What are you asking us to include for the “critical path” on the “Critical Path and Additional Criteria” application form?
A. First, read carefully through the form instructions and look through the examples provided. Are you more a “bench to bedside” (basic science/clinical) or more a “bench to trench” (community/population/policy/sociocultural) researcher? Then, consider where your project, if successful, would lead on a path to translation and practical application. Look back at your research topic from the perspectives of the social impact of the disease and the patient’s needs. Consider the human issues (e.g., population disparities, the underserved, individuals at high risk, survivors facing disease recurrence, drugs that work for only a fraction of patients, detection methods that miss a substantial fraction of breast cancers) and trace a path back to your research project. Identify barriers that would prevent your research topic from advancing, and explain to the reviewers how you propose to tackle them with a new, innovative approach. Thus, provide a translational link (temporal sequence of steps)
