Educational Offerings

Training the research workforce is integral to quality research that improves human health. One of SC CTSI’s mission is to deliver educational opportunities to USC faculty, staff, students, and scholars so that they may enhance their skills and careers in clinical and translational research.  Our educational offerings are provided in a variety of formats to accommodate the various research personnel needs.

Workshops, Seminars, and Webinars

Career Development Seminars
These monthly seminars, led by experts, are intended to develop core knowledge and skills to necessary in becoming productive researchers. A variety of topics are covered such as scientific communication, leadership, team science, career advancement, research tools, and regulatory science.
Find recordings of past seminars HERE.

Research Ethics Forums
Ethic experts facilitate quarterly forums that focus on important issues or legal cases receiving media coverage to help researchers design and conduct ethical research studies. These forums bring together faculty, research staff, and students from various disciplines to share their perspective and highlight related ethical issues.
Click HERE to watch an example of these informative sessions.

Team Science
A range of online resources to help research teams navigate the pros and cons of team science approaches and increase the chance of successful team science funding, as well as custom workshops for USC research teams with any size to help strengthen your team collaboration. Learn more.

REDCap Training
Regular hands-on workshops in the use of REDCap (Research Electronics Data Capture), a free, secure and HIPAA-compliant, web-based application designed for rapidly developing databases and surveys for research studies. Research groups can take a database or survey concept to production level in less than one day.

Digital Scholar Webinars
The use of digital practices and approaches can potentially increase the quality and efficiency of all phases of the traditional clinical translational research process. Monthly webinars introduce health researchers at USC, CHLA and beyond to the benefits and limitations of digital practices, approaches, and resources that address specific research needs. Learn more about the Digital Scholar Program. 
Find recordings of past webinars HERE.

Mentoring Workshop
This annual interactive workshop covers the fundamental aspects of mentoring and provides strategies in conflict resolution between mentor-mentee groups.  Hands-on group exercises provide opportunities to interact and practice newly learned mentorship approaches.

Symposia

Research in Diverse Populations
This short course prepares researchers to carry out clinical and translational research specific to populations that are diverse in many aspects including race, ethnicity, country of origin, gender, and socioeconomic status. Attendees learn how to tackle challenges that may arise in working with these populations particularly in Los Angeles. This course enables attendees to recognize the role of culture in research with urban populations, to recognize the need to collaborate with multiple disciplines, to understand how to approach, engage, and give feedback to communities, to frame research in urban populations in culturally appropriate ways, to recognize and address special ethical issues that arise in research in diverse populations, and to identify measurement issues.

Regulatory Science Symposia
These in-person symposiums are sponsored by SC CTSI’s Regulatory Knowledge Support core in collaboration with the Regulatory Science Program at USC’s School of Pharmacy. Typically, the one-day symposiums focus on a specific topic taught by experts within USC, CHLA, or industry. Past topics include special populations, emerging technologies, regulatory aspects of clinical trial design, and monitoring and auditing. All symposiums are recorded, and are easily accessible for viewing on the SC CTSI’s online educational library. These symposiums provide practical approaches that help to enhance regulatory knowledge and ensure quality in clinical trials. 

Find recordings of our past symposia and bootcamps HERE.

Courses

Introduction to Clinical and Translational Research Study Design (ICTR SD)
This 8-week course is designed for residents, fellows, faculty, and staff members as a practical introduction to clinical and translational research methods. This course provides a foundation in key components of clinical research design, facilitates the development of one’s own research protocol in preparation for foundation grant applications, and improves the reporting quality of clinical and translational research studies.  Find more information HERE.

Developing your Grant Proposal: Biostatistics and Research Design Principles
This training program is offered by the SC-CTSI BERD core for early-stage clinician investigators. The goal of the training is to provide knowledge about issues related to applying for, designing, and analyzing a grant. The program will consist of biweekly short modules with a workshop component, with focus placed on developing a document such as a grant draft or research protocol.  Find more information including the syllabus and registration link HERE.

Introduction to Clinical Translational Research 1-3 (PM612a-c)
These three 4-unit credited courses given under USC’s Population and Public Health Sciences focus on Clinical Translational Research, a discipline that fosters the multidirectional integration of basic research, patient-oriented research, and population-based research, with the long-term goal of improving the health of the public. Students are introduced to the fundamental processes that drive scientific knowledge across the clinical translational spectrum. The three courses are designed to provide competency in the conduct of clinical translational research, the evaluation of findings of clinical and translational research, oral and written scientific communication with emphasis on preparation of peer-reviewed journal articles and research proposals, ethics, and in the principles of team science.

Self-study courses

Clinical Trial Quality Training Modules
The DK KIM International Center for Regulatory Sciences (ICRS) in conjunction with SC CTSI has developed open-access, self-study modules that train academic researchers in essential concepts and practical approaches in regulatory quality management for clinical research. These high-quality modules employ a multifaceted approach including educational videos, case studies, interactive quizzes, and core regulatory document templates such as standard operating procedures and review checklists. These modules are designed to educate learners with fundamental and practical knowledge of clinical research auditing, monitoring, and (NEW!) FDA site visit readiness with an emphasis on investigator-initiated trials.
For more information including how to sign up or sign in for these free training modules, click HERE.

Healthcare Delivery Science
The SC CTSI sponsored the development of these unique training opportunities to foster the professional development of clinician-investigators and translational scientists as they strive to close the knowledge-to-practice gap in our regional healthcare delivery systems. It is part of a larger program in partnership with LA County Department of Health Services that supports research designed to enhance quality, efficiency, and patient-centeredness of care provided by the LAC DHS. Content was guided by published competencies for Learning Health Systems and by best instructional practices.  More details HERE.

Intro to Clinical and Translational Research
This short course provides an overview of clinical and translational research to new and seasoned researchers. The course is directed to faculty, clinicians and researchers seeking to develop or improve their skills in research methodology as well as in reading and interpreting reports.
Find the session recordings HERE.