K12 Scholars Program

The Consortium for Translational and Precision Health (CTPH) K12 Scholars Program is a mentored career development program that supports early-career faculty at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) and the University of Houston (UH) who are committed to careers in clinical and translational science. Designed to prepare early-career investigators for independent research careers in clinical and translational science, with an emphasis on precision health, the program provides protected research time, mentored research support, individualized mentoring, individualized career development, didactic training and experiential learning. Through these opportunities, the CTPH K12 Scholars Program equips scholars with the skills to become leaders, independent investigators and mentors in translational science and precision health.

Award Information and Program Components

  • The CTPH K12 Scholars Program is a Mentored Career Development Program Award within the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program, supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under award number K12TR004522.

    Funding Agency: National Institutes of Health (NIH)

    Institute: National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)

    Award Number: K12TR004522

    Award Title: CTSA K12 Program at Baylor College of Medicine and University of Houston

  • The CTPH K12 Scholars Program combines individualized career development with a shared curriculum centered on translational science principles. Each Scholar pursues a mentored research project while participating in structured training and professional development activities.

    Program components include: 

    • Protected research time and mentored research training

    • Individualized career development and mentoring

    •   Weekly K12 seminars and didactic curriculum

    •   Research Works-in-Progress (WIP) and Meet the Expert sessions

    • Experiential learning, networking, and leadership development National and regional CTSA and Association for Clinical and Translational Science (ACTS) activities

Scholar Support, Eligibility and Application Information

  • Eligible Scholars may receive:

    • Up to $120,000 annually towards salary support (excluding fringe benefits)   

    • Up to $27,500 annually in research and career development support

    • Two years of support, contingent upon satisfactory progress and continued eligibility

    Research and career development funds may be used for activities such as: 

    • Research supplies and study expenses

    • Tuition and coursework

    • Scientific meetings and travel

    • Career development activities   

    • Other approved program-related expenses

    • ‍ ‍Hold an early-career faculty appointment at BCM or UH

    •   Be within five years of their initial faculty appointment at the time of appointment to the K12 program

    •   Hold an appropriate terminal degree (e.g., MD, DO, DNP, PharmD, PhD, DrPH, EdD, or equivalent)

    •    Demonstrate scholarly productivity appropriate to their career stage

    •   Show a commitment to a career in translational science

    • Be eligible to devote at least 75% effort to the K12 program (50% for surgeons with prior approval)

    • Meet NIH citizenship or permanent residency requirements

    Applicants are not eligible if they:

    • Are in the process of applying for an independent mentored career development grant, research project grant, program project grants/center grants or equivalent grant

    • Have a pending U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Public Health Service (PHS) mentored career development award that duplicates any provisions of the K component at the time of appointment

    •  Have previously served as principal investigator on a major NIH research project grant (or equivalent non-PHS peer-reviewed award) or project leaders on sub-projects of program project grants/center grants

  • Future application cycles will be announced on this page as funding opportunities become available. Prospective applicants are encouraged to join the CTPH communications mailing list and check this page periodically for updated timelines, eligibility requirements, and application materials.

Questions

For questions or more information about the CTPH K12 Scholar Program, please contact ctph@bcm.edu.

K 12 Scholars Out and About

Members of the K12 Scholars inaugural cohort gather for dinner with multiple principal investigator Dr. Marino Bruce.

Pictured from left to right: Dr. Marino Bruce (MPI), Dr. Kaitlyn Sapoznik (K12 Scholar), Dr. Rashim Singh (K12 Scholar) and Dr. Minh Nguyen (K12 Scholar).

K12 Scholars and team celebrate Jason Bowman and his next chapter.

Pictured from left to right: Dr. Rolando Rumbaut (MPI), Dr. Kaitlyn Sapoznik (K12 Scholar), Dr. Elena Grigorenko (MPI), Dr. Christine Eriks (Program Manager), Dr. Jason Bowman (K12 Scholar), Dr. Rashim Singh (K12 Scholar) and Dr. Minh Nguyen (K12 Scholar).


K12 Scholars attend the 2026 Annual TRCC Meeting at UTMB in Galveston.

Pictured from left to right: Dr. Minh Nguyen (K12 Scholar), Dr. Kaitlyn Sapoznik (K12 Scholar) and Dr. Rashim Singh (K12 Scholar).

Current Scholars

  • Minh B. Nguyen, M.D.

    Minh B. Nguyen, M.D.

    Assistant Professor

    Department of Pediatrics

    Baylor College of Medicine

    “Predicting Adverse Events in Pediatric Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Using Echocardiography and Machine Learning”

    Primary Mentor: Craig Rusin, Ph.D.

    Read Bio
  • Kaitlyn Sapoznik, O.D., Ph.D.

    Kaitlyn Sapoznik, O.D., Ph.D.

    Assistant Professor

    Department of Clinical Sciences

    College of Optometry

    University of Houston

    “High-Resolution Adaptive Optics Imaging of Retinal Vascular Biomarkers in Diabetes Management”

    Primary Mentor: Nimesh B. Patel, O.D., Ph.D.

    Read Bio
  • Rashim, Singh, Ph.D.

    Rashim, Singh, Ph.D.

    Research Associate Professor

    Department of Pharmacological and Pharmaceutical Sciences

    College of Pharmacy

    University of Houston

    “Reducing Gut Oxidative Stress and Inflammation (OSI) with Increased Supplementation of Recycled Polyphenols”

    Primary Mentor: Meghana Trivedi, Pharm.D., Ph.D.

    Read Bio

Past Scholars

  • Jason K. Bowman, M.D.

    Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine

    “Individualized, Data-Driven Screening for High-Risk Dementia Patients in the Emergency Department: An Implementation Science and Human-Centered Design Approach”

    Primary Mentor: Kyler Godwin, Ph.D., M.P.H.

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