Graduate Certificate in Clinical & Translational Research [DRAFT]

Desert cactus

Offered On Campus in Tucson

The University of Arizona's Clinical & Translational Research (ACTR) graduate certificate program prepares interprofessional scientists for the complexities of clinical & translational research through high-quality didactic instruction, and mentored collaborative research experiences.

Who Should Attend?

Applicants with graduate degrees in such disciplines as medicine, nursing, pharmacy, or other health-related fields may apply to the ACTR. Those intending to apply for K23 or similar NIH awards are urged to apply to the program.

Admission Criteria Application Deadlines How to Apply

About the Program

The mission of the ACTR is to educate interprofessional scholars in collaborative methods and techniques for clinical and translational research, and to provide them with the tools necessary to become independent clinical researchers who will contribute to the advancement of biomedical science and the improvement of healthcare.

Clinical and translational research is fundamental for prevention, treatment, diagnosis and relief of symptoms of disease in human populations. Worldwide, there is an increasing need for highly qualified clinical researchers. The ACTR graduate certificate program has a strong track record for training interprofessional translational clinical researchers.

This innovative training program integrates the knowledge and expertise of faculty and staff within the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, Arizona Health Sciences Center, and other University of Arizona departments. The interprofessional approach provides opportunities for program scholars to acquire fundamental clinical & translational research skills in a supportive environment.

Program Chair

Zhao Chen, PhD, MPH
Professor and Department Chair, Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Program Directors

Advisory Committee

Mindy J Fain, MD
Medicine
Joseph M. Miller, MD, MPH
Ophthalmology
Leslie V Boyer, MD
Medicine
Julie Bauman, MD, MPH
Medicine

Curriculum

The graduate certificate in Clinical Translational Research consists of 3 required courses (7 units), 1-2 selective courses (3-6 units), and 0-3 electives (0-3 units) for a total of 13 units.

Required Core Courses (7 units)

EPID 573A Basic Principles of Epidemiology
3 units//Fall & Spring

This is an introduction course on basic concepts, principles and methods of epidemiology and how these concepts and methods are applicable in epidemiologic and clinical and translational research. No prerequisite.

BIOS 576A Biostatistics in Public Health
3 units//Fall & Spring

This course introduces biostatistical methods and applications, and will cover descriptive statistics, probability theory, and a wide variety of inferential statistical techniques that can be used to make practical conclusions about empirical data. Students will also be learning to use a statistical software package (STATA). Prerequisite: one year of college-level mathematics.

EPID 696T Clinical and Translational Research Seminar
1 units

A seminar course which consists of presentations & discussions given by diverse speakers on clinical and translational research that may not be available through other courses. Presentation topics may cover research methodologies, research ethics, health disparity, aging, pediatric health, mentoring, and practical issues of a research career such as finding funding, consulting, career development, and issues in study management. This is also the forum in which graduate students from the field related to clinical and translational research may present their research design and finding.

Selective Courses (3-6 units)

BIOS 576B Biostatistics for Research
3 units//Spring

This course teaches descriptive statistics and statistical inference relevant to biomedical research, including data analysis, regression and correlation analysis, analysis of variance, survival analysis, biological assay, statistical methods for epidemiology and statistical evaluation of clinical literature. Prerequisites: BIOS 576A, EPID 573A.

BIOS 576D Data Management & SAS Programming
3 units//Fall

This course will introduce students to the fundamentals of data management using the SAS programming language. Emphasis will be placed on data manipulation, including reading, processing, recoding, and reformatting data. The approach will be to teach by example, with an emphasis on hands-on learning.

EPID 678 Principles of Public Health Informatics
3 units

An introductory course to public health informatics including domains of public health data sources and their applications in clinical and public health research. Prerequisites: BIOS 576A, EPID 573A.

Elective Courses (0-3 units)

BIOS 503 Introduction to Statistical Analysis Using STATA
1 units//Fall & Spring

This course provides an introduction to statistical analysis using the STATA software package. It will introduce methods for entering, modifying and managing data, and provide examples of commonly used statistical analyses.

BIOS 504 Introduction to Statistical Analysis Using SAS
1 units//Fall & Spring

This course provides an introduction to statistical analysis using the SAS software package. It will introduce methods for entering, modifying and managing data, and provide examples of commonly used statistical analysis.

EPID 573B Epidemiologic Methods
3 units//Spring

Essential concepts, principles, and theories of research design and data analysis in epidemiologic and clinical investigation. Prerequisites: BIOS 576A, EPID 573A.

EPID 573C Advanced Epidemiology
3 units//Fall

An advanced course in quantitative issues that arise in the planning, analysis, and interpretation of epidemiologic research studies. Students must also know how to use a statistical software package (eg. STATA).

EPID 696A Epidemiology Seminar
1 units//Fall & Spring

This is a seminar course which consists of presentations given by diverse speakers on a range of topics that may not be available through other courses. Topics may include research methodologies; research ethics; mentoring; epidemiology and the law; the results of research and issues in specific areas such as injury epidemiology, TB control, medical genetics, and infectious diseases; and practical issues of a research career such as finding funding, consulting, career development, and issues in study management. This is also the forum in which MS and PhD epidemiology students will present their results.

BIOS 696S Biostatistics Seminar
1 units//Fall & Spring

This is a graduate-level seminar consisting of presentations by diverse speakers on a range of topics in biostatistics and in public health. This is also a forum in which biostatistics students will give presentations.

Other possible elective courses can be found here: publichealth.arizona.edu/students/course-schedule
Elective courses not on the above list must first be approved by the Chair of the ACTR Certificate program.

Time Commitment

The ACTR graduate certificate was developed to meet the needs of busy health professionals and is tailored to meet the individual needs of the ACTR scholars, allowing the 13 required credits to be completed in one year to two years.

The time needed to complete the certificate requirements largely depends on a scholar's existing commitments at entry to the program and especially the support the scholar has from their supervisor or employer to participate in the program. Scholars are strongly encouraged to secure sufficient support to complete the program within two years.

Learning Objectives

The ACTR has two main objectives:

To educate program scholars in the principles, methods, and techniques used in clinical and translational research including patient-oriented research, epidemiological and behavioral studies, outcomes or health services research through a multidisciplinary approach.
To provide program scholars with the tools necessary to become independently clinical researchers who will contribute to the advancement of biomedical science and health care.