Graduate Academic Unit Certificate in Translational Research Program | UC Davis CTSC

The Graduate Academic Unit Certificate In Translational Research (GAUC-TR) is designed for doctoral students who are interested in gaining competence in translational research but who are unable to apply for the Designated Emphasis in Translational Research (DETR). This training is a key component of a larger UC Davis strategy for creating a groundbreaking translational research program that is team-based and multidisciplinary and to making bold new changes in how we train our basic science students to discover answers to medical challenges. The overarching goal is to provide an innovative, cost-effective, and sustainable model for training a new cadre of Ph.D. biologists who will have productive careers in clinically relevant basic research.

The only formal difference between the GAUC-TR and the DETR is that for graduate students pursuing the DETR, their qualifying exam and dissertation must include a faculty member affiliated with the DETR. For graduate students pursuing the GAUC, there is no qualifying examination or dissertation requirement. In addition, the GAUC will be open to current graduate students and professional students.

Mission

• Enable trainees to acquire knowledge and skills to help them translate discoveries from their discipline into tools for improving human and animal health and wellbeing.
• Prepare trainees to participate in translational team research aimed at improving human and animal health and well-being.
• Provide trainees with training experiences where they can identify opportunities to apply tools from their discipline to unmet biomedical, public health, or veterinary needs.
• Prepare trainees to recognize the importance of research questions that impact health disparities.