The Clinical Research Informatics Postdoctoral (CRISP) Fellowship provides 1 or 2 years of tailored training for clinician investigators who seek to improve healthcare through the science of clinical research informatics. It is funded by a training grant (TL1-TR001871) from the National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NCATS), in conjunction with the UCSF Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) and the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics.
CRISP fellows obtain advanced didactic training in the methods of clinical research informatics and participate in regular work-in-progress and career development sessions. Fellows receive a stipend commensurate with their PGY/postdoctoral fellow status plus tuition assistance for didactic training. Applicant departments are responsible for covering approximately 40% of the total fellowship costs (see "Frequently asked questions" at the bottom of this page).
What is clinical research informatics?
Clinical Research Informatics, one of the five informatics specialties defined by the American Medical Informatics Society, involves using data science methods, analytics, and clinical practice observation to generate and disseminate knowledge related to health and healthcare delivery.
Careers in clinical research informatics may involve:
Selection, implementation, development, and maintenance of a technology ecosystem to support healthcare
- When should AI be implemented?
- How can we tell if AI improves health outcomes?
- What are the metrics?
- Optimization of electronic health record (EHR) systems and data to support research administration, participant recruitment and consenting, data capture, intervention implementation, and other activities related to clinical research execution
- Management and workflow of EHR data repositories, registries, marts, and warehouses, along with simplifying the process of leveraging these standardized repositories via reporting and analytics
- Leveraging of EHR data for population health analytics and scientific inquiry
- Use of implementation science methods and translation of research into evidence-based practice
Program
CRISP fellows receive in-depth training in clinical research informatics and data science through coursework in the Training in Clinical Research (TICR) program.
- Conduct a mentored research project.
- Attend weekly didactic sessions with UCSF (ACGME) Clinical Informatics Fellows.
- Participate in regular work-in-progress sessions with the UCSF Masters in Health Data Science Program.
- Attend monthly Fellows Advancement Skills Training in Clinical Research (FAST-CaR) career development sessions.
- Complete coursework: CRISP fellows who have not already received formal training in these areas will be encouraged to take additional courses [PDF].
Eligibility
The CRISP program is designed for clinical postdoctoral fellows with strong mentorship who are planning to submit a K award within two to three years. Applicants with backgrounds that are underrepresented in Medicine and candidates from the Schools of Nursing, Pharmacy, and Dentistry are especially encouraged to apply. All applicants must meet the following criteria:
- U.S. citizen or permanent resident
- Doctoral degree in a healthcare profession
- Clinical license in a healthcare profession (allopathic or osteopathic medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, psychology, physical therapy, acupuncture, podiatry)
- Fewer than three years of prior funding through (institutional or individual) NRSA training grants
Application Instructions
There will be two slots available for 2024-2025.
Application
Timeline
Applications Due: April 1, 2024
Offers Extended: May 1, 2024
Fellowship Begins: July 1, 2024
Blank Sample Application (PDF)
Selection Criteria
Program Director
Frequently Asked Questions