Looking to advance their careers as surgeon-scientists, two faculty members in the University of Colorado Department of Surgery have been accepted into the Clinical Faculty Scholars Program (CFSP) at the Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CCTSI) in the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
In July, Eden Nohra, MD, and Jessica Rove, MD, will join the CCTSI program that aims to help emerging investigators obtain a career development award or a first independent, extramural project award through guided project development, educational seminars, grant writing classes, and mentorship. CFSP members receive tuition support from their home department or division and obtain at least 50% protected time for research during their two years of enrollment.
“It’s an attractive component of the University of Colorado School of Medicine to have the CCTSI, as well as the Clinical Faculty Scholars Program,” says Nohra, assistant professor in the Division of GI, Trauma, and Endocrine Surgery. “It gives me the opportunity to develop into an independently funded researcher. It gives me the resources and the mentorship needed to develop that, as well as the time protection and financial support. It’s a privilege to become part of this program, and it makes me very happy, because it helps me believe and understand that my goals are now one step closer.”
Studying the ICU patient experience
Under the mentorship of James Feinstein, MD, MPH/MSPH, associate professor of general pediatrics, Nohra plans to use the CFSP training to further develop her research around the patient experience in intensive care and shared decision making among the patient, the surgeon, and the patient’s family members.
“I find that research often is ahead of clinical science when it comes to how we implement care for our patients,” Nohra says. “The Clinical Faculty Scholars Program is going to help me potentially develop implementation strategies through research that will bring the knowledge to the bedside a little quicker.”
Nohra already has submitted multiple grants for her research and has begun work on a study around ICU liberation, the process of de-intensifying a patient’s environment to allow them to become more participatory in their care.
“This tends to lead to less delirium, improved mortality, and better long-term outcomes after the intensive care stay,” she says. “There is evidence that it works, but it’s one of those complex interventions that is difficult to implement, because it requires a lot of resource intensity and changes in patterns of care and thinking toward the patient and their needs.”
Nohra is currently working with a CU medical student on a research project about communication with the families of ICU patients, and how the family members perceive the patient’s prognosis compared to how the provider perceives it.
“What about the communication influences that understanding?” she says. “Is it the words they use? Is it mannerisms? I’m very lucky to be part of the CFSP, because I don’t think I would be able to get the research that I want to do funded without it. It’s one thing to have a research idea; it’s another to be able to communicate it in a properly written grant and get that funded.”
Ambulation and recovery
For her part, Rove, associate professor of cardiothoracic surgery, plans to use her time in the CFSP to continue her ongoing research into how physical activity prior to cardiac surgery can aid in recovery.
“The most common question we get is, ‘How long does it take me to recover?’ And we don't really know. It's very subjective,” she says. “This research looks at patient-centered outcomes — if you’re the patient going through open heart surgery, what are the outcomes that really matter to you? Obviously you want your heart working, but on top of that, patients want to optimize functional, cognitive, and emotional recovery after major surgery. My project for the CFSP program is studying how physical activity before and after major surgery in older adults impacts their recovery. It starts even before the operation.”
Importance of mentorship
Rove, who also will be mentored by Feinstein in the CFSP, says she is glad the program focuses on mentorship and grant writing, two elements that are key to receiving extramural funding.
“In going through the process of applying for grants, I realized I had gaps that were very specific to certain areas,” she says. “And one of those is mentorship. There aren’t a lot of cardiothoracic surgeons with NIH funding who also have time to mentor you. CFSP will help us connect with a larger group of researchers in the School of Medicine and leverage those resources to be more successful in the grant application process.”
Six years into her clinical practice, Rove sees this as the perfect time to focus more on her research so that both sides of her career are ultimately running at full capacity. CFSP, she says, will help her develop the research side to become more sustainable.
“I’m grateful that the School of Medicine has a mechanism to support people like myself, because it offers a roadmap. It can be challenging to find the path forward when there aren’t a lot of examples around you,” she says. “And I’m grateful to the Department of Surgery for investing in us and protecting our time.”
Featured image: Jessica Rove, MD, left; Eden Nohra, MD, right.
