EVOLUTION Network
Empowering Voices Of Leaders Using Training, Integration, and Ongoing Networks
This service is provided by TRANSFORM.
Overview
TRANSFORM (TRaining And Nurturing Scholars FOr Research that is Multidisciplinary) EVOLUTION (Empowering Voices Of Leaders Using Training, Integration, and Ongoing Networks) provides a lasting professional network for alumni of TRANSFORM’s training and education programs. The name “EVOLUTION” reflects its vision: an adaptive community responding to scholars’ evolving needs, emphasizing how professional networks enhance development.
EVOLUTION serves as a model for extending the benefits of career development programs by fostering enduring, cross-generational professional communities that support clinical and translational researchers over the long. We work to achieve this goal through the following strategies:
- Offering sustained support, collaboration, and educational opportunities throughout the careers of our alumni
- Supporting career transitions from K to R to Center-level research and career development funding through intentional networking
- Providing seasoned guidance from senior faculty
- Sharing recent insights from junior alumni on career benchmarks, applications, and promotion processes
In translational science’s demanding landscape, we believe such peer networks will shape the field’s future and empower new generations of researchers.
Program History
TRANSFORM EVOLUTION was born from scholars’ desire to create a structured community for ongoing networking and career development. EVOLUTION arose from the collective concern of KL2 scholars (Marisa Spann and Badri Vardarajan) nearing the end of their training who faced the potential loss of the collaborative environment that had supported their growth. They sought to extend support by building a professional network, originally of current KL2s and alumni. By 2020, its mission expanded to include other Irving Institute alumni to build a sustainable, inclusive network fostering professional collaboration and social connection across career stages.
Programming Leads
- May Hua, MD, MS, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology
- Marisa Spann, PhD, MPH, Tenured Associate Professor of Medical Psychology, Department of Psychiatry
- Badri Vardarajan, PhD, Associate Professor of Neurological Sciences, Department of Neurology
Advisory Committee
- Melissa Accordino, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Medical Hematology and Oncology, Columbia University
- Eileen P. Connolly, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology, Columbia University
- Katherine Dimitropoulou, PhD, OTR/L, Assistant Professor of Rehabilitation and Regenerative Medicine, Columbia University
- Andrew Einstein, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Columbia University
- Robyn Gartrell, MD, MS, Assistant Professor of Oncology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
- Fatemeh Momen-Heravi, DDS, PhD, MPH, Professor and Division Chief of Periodontology, Department of Orofacial Sciences, University of California, San Francisco
Publications
- Keeping the network alive: The importance of professional social networks for long-term research career development – Journal of Clinical and Translational Science
- A theoretical framework on the culture of interprofessional communication in healthcare – Journal of Clinical and Translational Science (abstract, PDF)
Eligibility
- All events are open to alumni of TRANSFORM training and education programs.
- Select events are open to the entire CUIMC community and will be advertised when available
Cite it, Submit it, Share it!
If your research has benefited from one or more Irving Institute resources, please remember to:
- Cite our CTSA grant in any relevant publications, abstracts, chapters, and/or posters.
- Submit your publications to PubMed Central (PMC) for compliance with the NIH Public Access Policy.
- Program alumni: share your research and career updates and impact stories with us by sending an email to: irving_institute@cumc.columbia.edu
Contact
- Nadia Ramdeen nr2888@cumc.columbia.edu
