Creating a culture of mentoring in which every faculty member is invested and engaged in professional growth.
The ABLE Program is designed to accelerate career development for junior faculty in their chosen pathway by pairing them in a one-year program with a personal mentor. The program involves training in aspects of career development that include strategies to build resilience, enhance professional skills, and learn the infrastructure that supports their chosen domain. The training will be accomplished through small group discussions, lectures, and participation in online programs available within the institution. In addition, regular meetings with the personal mentor, a senior faculty member, will enhance the value of the program. The ABLE Program supplements existing mentor relationships.
Objectives
- Deliver effective skill building programs to all faculty aligned with the department’s mission
- Develop mentoring and leadership skills among program participants
- Increase faculty productivity within their chosen field as measured by grant funding, publications, and national visibility in a leadership role
- Build resilience through training in effective strategies for managing time, stress and fatigue
- Improve awareness of APT process and accelerate preparation of high quality dossier in chosen track
Every year, faculty are selected for each of the following domains:
Goals
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Develop a career plan, including review of D-APT requirements and prepare dossier
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Participate in monthly leadership development seminars organized by the department
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Complete Meyers Briggs inventory and 360° evaluation
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Incorporate effective strategies for managing time, stress and fatigue
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Complete a structured program including courses on clinical research offered by the School of Medicine and Duke Clinical Research Institute
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Complete a manuscript writing/grant writing/presentation skills workshop
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Submit one competitive grant application
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Learn the institutional infrastructure that supports clinical research (CARE), including grant management and IRB policies
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Attend perioperative operations meetings as determined by mentor/team lead
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Deliver one mentored project in a specific area of operations
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Apply for external funding for projects in the area of operations
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12-month, mentor-led cohort. Build practical literacy in data science and AI through short workshops, guided labs, and expert office hours.
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Core skills you can use immediately. Learn basics of coding for clinical data, study design & statistics, ML fundamentals and model evaluation, ethics/bias, version control, and reproducible workflows—taught with real health-system examples.
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Capstone that matters. Individual or team project on a real Duke problem; produce a tangible deliverable (e.g., dashboard, predictive model, or manuscript) and present at an end-of-year showcase.
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Plug into the Duke ecosystem. Direct connections to Duke AI Health, Biostatistics & Study Design, Research Computing, Libraries/Data Services, and data governance; access to compute resources, a mentor network, and pathways to funded collaborations.
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Design and implement a specific education research project
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Complete course on curriculum design and evaluation
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Learn the institutional infrastructure that supports education, including GME resources
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Apply for external funding for research projects on education
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Complete a structured program including courses on translational research offered by the School of Medicine and Duke Translational Research Institute
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Complete a manuscript writing/grant writing/presentation skills workshop
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Submit one competitive grant application
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Learn the institutional infrastructure that supports translational research, including grant management and IACUC/IRB policies
Structure
Clinical Operations
Data Science
Education
Translational Research
Basic Research
Clinical Operations
Data Science
Education
Translational Research
Selection and Eligibility
All junior faculty at the rank of assistant professor or instructor are encouraged to apply for ABLE Scholarship. All applicants to the program will be screened by both domain Mentors and discussed with team leads. Recommendations will be made by team leads to the senior cabinet for final selection. Unsuccessful candidates will be encouraged to reapply. Those in a grant application cycle, or within 2 years of promotion eligibility will be prioritized. Faculty at the associate professor rank may also apply for the ABLE program; selection will be approved by Team Leads in consultation with the VC for faculty development and department chair.
Mentors will meet with their assigned ABLE Scholars as often as required, but at least every month to set goals and review progress. Team Leads will meet with Mentors every quarter to review progress and discuss opportunities and barriers within the broad goals of the ABLE program. Team Leads will meet with the VC for faculty development every six months to review progress. The VC will provide the department chair an annual report for each domain.
July 28, 2022
Building a National Presence
Dr. Madhav Swaminathan
September 15, 2021
Ethics and Professionalism for Leaders
Michael “Buzz” Waitzkin
August 26, 2021
How to Write a Business Proposal
Dana Rawls and John Borrelli
August 25, 2021
Reporting Requirements in Research
Tiffany Bisanar, MHA, BSN, RN, CCRP
April 7, 2021
Effective Presentations
Dr. Madhav Swaminathan
March 24, 2021
Writing a Good Biosketch
Dr. Jamie Privratsky
March 18, 2021
Building A National Presence
Dr. Madhav Swaminathan
February 24, 2021
Scientific Integrity
Dr. Geeta Swamy
February 22, 2021
Presentation Skills Workshop I
Dr. Madhav Swaminathan
Januar 27, 2021
Developing a Curriculum I
Dr. Ashley Grantham
January 27, 2021
Grant Writing Workshop I
Kathy Gage
January 21, 2021
Finance Basics in an Academic Department
John Borrelli
We are now taking applications for the 2026 ABLE program until September 26, 2025.
Meet the ABLE Scholars
Clinical Operations
Data Science
Education
Translational Research
