Clinical Scientist Development Training

The NIH-funded Berkeley Clinical Scientist Development Program (BCSDP) seeks to recruit talented and experienced clinicians (OD, DO, MD, DDS, DVM, etc.) who desire a career in clinical patient-based eye and vision research. The program offers the rich resources of world-renowned research groups at UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco, including Vision Science, Optometry, Public Health, Neuroscience, Infectious Disease, Bioengineering, Health and Medical Science, and Molecular & Cell Biology.

For more information, see BCSDP.

Key Elements of the BCSDP Program

Opportunity for Career Change: Established clinicians now have a full-time program to assist in making a career shift from clinical practice and teaching to one centered on the combination of teaching and independent, federally funded, patient-based eye and vision research.

Exceptional Faculty Mentors: The BCSDP features a distinguished, diverse, and multidisciplinary mentoring group of nationally recognized scientists and clinicians in one of seven clinical research areas: Retinal Disease, Corneal Disease, Strabismus, Amblyopia, Visual Processing, Lens & Cataract, and Low Vision & Blindness Rehabilitation. Mentors have substantial experience training clinicians in the clinical and/or basic sciences. To ensure multi-disciplinary training, each trainee will not only be closely supervised by a principal mentor, but will also receive guidance from one or more associate mentors.

Substantial Resources: The program is in an outstanding position to offer the necessary resources and commitment to conduct a premier advanced-training program in patient-based eye and vision research. The BCSDP offers a unique interface among health care, basic science, and applied science — all with top-rated faculty who are based in a wide range of campus groups and departments at UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco, including Vision Science, Public Health, Infectious Disease, Biostatistics, Neuroscience, Molecular & Cell Biology, Chemical Engineering, and Optometry.

Training Duration: The commitment required to complete the BCSDP will be full-time (12-months per year) for 3-5 years. Each timeline will be planned by the trainee and lead mentor in consultation with the Advisory Committee and Program Director. Program duration may be slightly longer for trainees seeking advanced graduate degrees, depending on such factors as prior research experience, the demands of the research project, and specific career and training goals of the awardee.

Degree Option: Trainees may elect to obtain advanced degrees, such as PhD, MS, or MPH, but this is an optional component of the BCSDP. The degree program must be consistent with the goals of the individual's BCSDP training plan, and approval from both the Primary Mentor and Program Director is mandatory before the trainee may apply any BCSDP support toward fulfillment of degree requirements. Please note the following:
- Admittance to the BCSDP does not guarantee acceptance into a University of California degree program.
- Application to a degree program must be made separately from application to the BCSDP.
- If a candidate is accepted by both the BCDSP and a UCB graduate degree program, the funding provided by the BCSDP may be used in partial support of tuition, research, and training leading to the degree.
Curriculum: Training will include six curriculum components: (1) Didactic courses (Core curriculum); (2) Seminars (Core curriculum); (3) Elective topic-specific and mentor-crafted courses and seminars; (4) Attendance and participation at scientific meetings; (5) Directed research closely supervised by principal and associate mentors; and (6) training in grant writing.

Monitoring of Trainee Progress: Lead mentors will monitor the ongoing success of their currently enrolled trainees and will provide the Program Director, Advisory Committee, and External Monitoring Committee with a yearly summary of trainee performance. Progress will be evaluated by courses and seminars successfully completed, meetings attended, papers or seminars presented, research projects developed or completed, grants written, submitted, or awarded, and papers submitted or published.

Financial Support: The NIH will provide competitive professional salaries — depending on previous training, research experience, professional appointments, and years since obtaining professional degrees.