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NU-THRIVE T32

The Training Program in Translational Behavioral Science in HIV and Mental Health (NU-THRIVE) is based at Impact, within the institute’s THRIVE Center. The program is funded by a T32 grant from the National Institutes of Health (Grant Number: T32MH130325) and enrolls three postdoctoral fellows each year for two-year appointments. Trainees receive primary and secondary mentorship from faculty at Impact and Feinberg School of Medicine and across Northwestern University.

NU-THRIVE postdoctoral fellows learn to be successful translational scientists. Fellows receive training in each of the domains of translational science from basic science discovery, including qualitative and quantitative research methods; to taking the data from those studies to develop interventions; to then eventual implementation of interventions into the community. Fellows will come out of the NU-THRIVE training program with knowledge of the whole translational science spectrum and will have the opportunity to specialize in two translational domains.

As reflected by the interdisciplinary nature of our training faculty, we welcome and encourage applicants from numerous academic disciplines, including (but not limited to) public health, medicine, psychology, sociology, social work, and communications. Medical residents seeking one-year research fellowships are also encouraged to apply.

The NU-THRIVE training curriculum is highly varied and was designed specifically to meet the needs of the next generation of translational scientists in HIV and mental health, including:

  • Mentored research with a primary and secondary mentor, including working on existing research projects and/or proposing new research initiatives.
  • Bi-annual intensive trainings in our four translational science domains: Quantitative methods, qualitative methods, interventions and trials, and implementation science.
  • A weekly seminar that rotates between presentations on research skills, professional development, faculty presentations, and works in progress.
  • Structured writing support, including a weekly writing group and bi-annual writing retreats, designed to improve manuscript and grant writing skills.

Training Modalities

NU-THRIVE trains postdoctoral fellows in research methods across the translational science spectrum through a rigorous program in which they will specialize in two translational science skill domains and gain breadth of knowledge in all four domains through a formal training curriculum.

Quantitative Methods

  • Population-based datasets and epidemiology
  • Longitudinal cohorts
  • Diaries, ecological momentary assessment
  • Mediation and moderation
  • Growth modeling

Qualitative Methods

  • In-depth interviewing and focus groups
  • Codebook development and refinement
  • Thematic analysis and grounded theory
  • Mixed methods

Interventions and Trials

  • Intervention development and mapping
  • Intervention adaptation
  • eHealth
  • Pilot trials
  • Randomized controlled trials

Implementation Science

  • Implementation barriers and facilitators
  • Implementation strategic evaluation
  • Hybrid trials
  • Health services research

The highly interdisciplinary experience of my T32 training has helped me expand my theoretical and methodological skillset, while also offering many meaningful mentorship opportunities.”

Jacob Donald Gordon, PhD

Core Competencies

Postdoctoral fellows in the NU-THRIVE program will also gain knowledge and skills in the following seven core competencies.

Mentors

Fellows will select one Primary Mentor and one Secondary Mentor. Mentors and their translational science expertise are listed below.

Our training program seeks to equip the next generation of scholars to address HIV, mental health, and associated comorbidities through rigorous behavioral science. To rapidly address these issues, we need skilled translational scientists who can delineate the mechanistic processes driving these health concerns, translate findings into interventions, and implement programs with communities.”

Michael Newcomb, PhD, director of the THRIVE Center and postdoctoral training programs