Built on the promising results of Doris Duke Charitable Foundation’s Fund to Retain Clinical Scientists (DDF), CARES at UAB began in 2021 as a response to caregiving demands imposed by COVID-19.
Its primary goal was to offer support to early-career investigators whose research had been affected by caregiving responsibilities during the pandemic. The success of CARES at UAB laid the foundation for Heersink CARES, a Heersink School of Medicine legacy program that continues the extra-hands model for early-career faculty caregivers.
Recipients use CARES funding to add critical research capacity, including postdoctoral and research staff support, clinical research coordination, qualitative analysis, regulatory assistance, and data analyses to complete their funded projects and to develop future grant applications. While over 40% of physicians leave academia within 10 years of being appointed assistant professor, the initial CARES at UAB program retained 93% of its awardees. As a result of the 28 awards distributed, these awardees published over 200 manuscripts and secured 15 new NIH K-, R-, and U-series grants upon program completion as detailed in the official manuscript.
The Heersink CARES legacy program will extend support and investment in early-career research faculty caregivers post-pandemic. The program aims to sustain the research scholarship and trajectory of awardees, supporting their successful careers as independent investigators in the Heersink School of Medicine for years to come.
Team
Michael J Mugavero, MD, MHSc
Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Research
Distinguished Professor, Infectious Diseases
Shyla K Fields, MBA
Director, Health Across the Lifecourse Research Focus Area
Heersink School of Medicine, Deans Office
Shaila Handattu, PhD, MBA
Executive Director, UAB School of Medicine Office of Research
Heersink School of Medicine, Deans Office