An official website of the United States governmentAbout Research Training and Career Development
The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) supports a variety of high-quality research training and career development opportunities aimed at increasing the number and diversity of well-prepared, skilled investigators with knowledge and expertise in both complementary and integrative health and state-of-the-art research methods.
How Research Training Supports NCCIH's Goals
NCCIH’s research-training mission is aligned with the Center’s 2021–2025 strategic plan, specifically, its objective to enhance the complementary and integrative health research workforce.
Researchers from many different biomedical and behavioral disciplines are key to further advancing basic, mechanistic, translational, and clinical research in complementary health approaches and their integration into health care. Because complementary and integrative health approaches include a wide variety of modalities, NCCIH’s training strategies must include innovative approaches that incorporate an understanding of this diversity to ensure that future research workforce needs for the various modalities as well as combinations of these modalities are met.
In particular, the Center focuses on supporting research training and career development opportunities for:
- Individuals from groups who are underrepresented in biomedical, clinical, or behavioral and social science research (e.g., racial and ethnic minorities or other populations described in the Notice of NIH’s Interest in Diversity and are interested in careers in complementary and integrative health research.
- Clinician-scientists, including conventionally trained physicians, complementary health practitioners, and other professionals (e.g., clinical psychologists, nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, art and/or music therapists), especially those who are currently underrepresented in biomedical and behavioral scientific research.
- Scientists trained in key biomedical and behavioral research disciplines necessary for rigorous, state-of-the-art scientific investigation of complementary and integrative health approaches, practices, and disciplines.
In addition, NCCIH is working to foster interdisciplinary collaborations and partnerships at individual and institutional levels. This work includes:
- Identifying and addressing barriers to the creation of a highly skilled and diverse research workforce
- Piloting and evaluating new approaches for workforce development
- Exploring approaches to speed the trajectory from trainee status to independent researcher
More Information on NCCIH’s Research Priorities
- NCCIH’s Research Strategy
- Research Priorities and Research Focus
Related Topics
NCCIH Training and Career Development Opportunities
NCCIH-Funded Institutional Research-Training Programs
Programs to Enhance Workforce Diversity
Grant Application, Review, and Award Processes