Committees

Role

The PERFORM-KUH Steering Committee is the central governing body of the training program. It provides an integrative decision-making forum to ensure that PERFORM-KUH achieves its goals across training, mentoring, professional development, networking, outreach, and evaluation.

Responsibilities

The Steering Committee:

• Reviews updates from the Administrative, TL1, Professional Development, and Networking Cores.
• Reviews reports from subcommittees and the evaluation program.
• Discusses and approves programmatic changes.
• Appoints additional subcommittees or leadership when needed.
• Reviews trainee, mentor, and program evaluation data.
• Reports annually to the External Advisory Board.
• Responds to External Advisory Board recommendations and implements approved improvements.

Members

• Lawrence Holzman, MD - Chair, Administrative Core Director, Kidney Section Director.
• Wei Tong, PhD - Co-Chair, TL1 PI, Hematology Section Director.
• Gregory Tasian, MD, MSCE - Urology Section Director.
• Meera Harhay, MD, MSCE - Drexel Site Director.
• Paula Martinez-Cantarin, MD - Jefferson Site Director.
• Hong Wang, MD, PhD - Temple/Fox Chase Site Director.
• Jordana Cohen, MD, MSCE - Professional Development Core Director.
• Michelle Denburg, MD, MSCE - Networking Core Director.
• Hannah Anderson, MBA - Evaluation Program Lead.
• Donita Brady, PhD - Inclusion, diversity, equity, and research training leadership.
• Rotating TL1 trainees - one predoctoral and one postdoctoral representative.
• Adam Mussell - Program Manager.

Meeting schedule

The Steering Committee meets monthly or more frequently as needed.

Role

The External Advisory Board provides independent review and guidance for PERFORM-KUH. The Steering Committee reports to the board at an annual meeting timed to coincide with the annual scientific retreat. The board reviews program progress, evaluation metrics, core performance, trainee progress, and proposed changes or improvements.

Review process

At least two weeks before the annual meeting, the Steering Committee prepares an annual report describing progress across the Administrative, TL1, Professional Development, and Networking Cores. The report includes evaluation results and proposed remediation or improvement plans when needed. The External Advisory Board provides verbal feedback during the meeting and written comments, questions, or recommendations afterward. The Steering Committee responds with an implementation plan for approved changes.

Current members

[Confirm final membership before publishing. Current EAB meeting materials list:]

• Emery Bresnick, University of Wisconsin.
• David Chu, Lurie Children’s Hospital / Northwestern University.
• Shuta Ishibe, Yale University Nephrology.

Annual meeting

The annual External Advisory Board meeting includes program leadership introductions, program overview, training environment discussion, progress reports from each core, mentorship oversight updates, quality assessment results, TL1 admissions review, trainee history, and current trainee progress.

Role

The Mentorship Oversight Committee (MOC) oversees mentoring of predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees appointed to TL1 fellowships. It provides program-wide oversight, integrates feedback from trainees and mentorship committees, and supports high-quality mentorship across institutions.

Responsibilities

The MOC:

• Approves mentorship committee membership.
• Ensures timely completion of semiannual mentorship committee reports.
• Reviews trainee feedback about mentors and mentorship committees.
• Troubleshoots or adjudicates mentorship issues.
• Provides feedback to mentorship committees, trainees, and faculty trainers.
• Uses evaluation data to support continuous program improvement.
• Meets semiannually and as needed for urgent matters.

Members

• Jordana Cohen, MD, MSCE - Chair.
• Wei Tong, PhD.
• Lawrence Holzman, MD.
• Gregory Tasian, MD, MSCE.
• Hannah Anderson, MBA.
• Meera Harhay, MD, MSCE.
• Paula Martinez-Cantarin, MD.
• Hong Wang, MD, PhD.
• Two rotating TL1 trainee representatives.
• Adam Mussell, Program Manager.

Role

The TL1 Fellowship Admissions Committee manages the PERFORM-KUH TL1 recruitment and admissions process. The committee develops recruitment materials, reviews applications, conducts interviews, and recommends fellowship appointments for final approval by the Steering Committee.

Admissions principles

The admissions process emphasizes:

• Applicant quality and potential.
• Strength of the research training plan.
• Alignment with KUH research priorities.
• Commitment of the mentoring team.
• Institutional and scientific balance across the PERFORM-KUH network.
• Commitment to broadening access to KUH research careers.

Review process

Each application is reviewed by at least two reviewers. A primary reviewer presents the application to the committee, the committee discusses the candidate, and the committee votes or ranks candidates. Committee representatives interview top candidates before final admissions recommendations are made.

Evaluation criteria

Applications are evaluated based on:

• Record of academic achievement.
• Research training plan.
• Clarity of written communication.
• Clarity of oral communication.
• Motivation for pursuing an academic research career.
• Alignment of trainee interests with KUH research priority areas.
• Commitment of the mentoring team to the candidate.
• Referees’ assessments of the candidate’s academic and research accomplishments for postdoctoral applicants.

Members

• Lawrence Holzman, MD
• Wei Tong, PhD
• Gregory Tasian, MD, MSCE
• Meera Harhay, MD, MSCE
• Paula Martinez-Cantarin, MD
• Hong Wang, MD, PhD
• Donita Brady, PhD
• Rotating TL1 trainee representatives
• Adam Mussell, Program Manager