Table-6.

Factors for Choosing an Institution

What to look for in a Fellowship Program

What to look for in a Cardiologist Position that can support academic pursuits

✥ Institutional Resources ➢ NIH CTSA (https://ncats.nih.gov/ctsa) ➢ NIH T-32 Grant (https://projectreporter.nih.gov/reporter.cfm; Grant Type:T32; center: HL) ➢ Non-federal mechanisms to fund protected research time for fellows > 2 years ➢ Protected research time (> 75% research for > 2 years) to produce first author paper and transferrable reagents/models to apply for grant (2 years is the minimum, non MD-PhD will likely need 3+ years) ➢ One may need to tradeoff clinical skill vs. research time if one wants to complete the clinical portion in 24 months ✥Mentors who can meet NIH K-grant qualifications (recognized expert in the field, active R01 grant or equivalent, actively publishing, track record of mentees successfully transitioning to positions of independent principal investigator) ✥Core facilities and ongoing research in the area of interest ✥Track record of fellows transitioning to faculty positions that supported independent investigation

✥ Institutional Resources ➢ Startup Fund to run research without external support for > 3 years (>$750,000; not including salary support for yourself) ➢ Protected research time and compensation if promised protected research time is interrupted (i.e., increased funding and technical support) ➢ CTSA and Institutional KL2 ➢ Core facilities that can directly support your research ✥ Mentoring ➢ Mentors who meets NIH K-grant qualifications and will truly invest in you ➢ Mentorship program (e.g., career development, proposal preparation, promotion) ✥ Collaboration ➢ Existence of potential collaborators ➢ Culture of collaboration (need to find junior faculty member(s) who will speak to you honestly)