PRECISE Center Academy for Consultation, Engagement, and Scholarship (PACES)
PACES, our Precision Rehabilitation Early Stage Investigators Program, supports junior investigators in building practical skills in precision rehabilitation through a structured combination of mentorship and cohort-based learning. Scholars engage with curated readings and resources, learn from one another through multidisciplinary discussion, and receive guidance from mentors and topic-area experts aligned with their research focus.
Each year, we select a competitive cohort of scholars who participate in monthly virtual seminars, complete brief preparation and reflection activities, and connect to additional PRECISE Center learning opportunities.
Program and Application Timeline:
- Fall 2026 cohort applications are now being accepted!
- The Fall 2026 cohort application deadline is July 1, 2026
- The next cohort begins in September 2026 and runs through August 2027
What PACES Scholars do
PACES Scholars participate in a 12-month program featuring:
- Monthly, 90-minute virtual seminars with works-in-progress presentations, peer exchange, and discussions with experts
- Exposure to the research of other cohort members and invited experts internal and external to the PRECISE Center and the Precision Rehabilitation Center of Excellence at Johns Hopkins Medicine
- Dedicated seminar time for structured networking among multidisciplinary junior investigators
- Mentorship access through program connections and ad hoc consults to support scholars' evolving needs
- Brief pre-seminar preparation (e.g., short readings or materials) to support skill- building and shared discussion
- Short post-seminar reflection exercises (prompted, low-burden) to reinforce learning and application to the scholar's own work
- Active cohort participation, including constructive peer feedback and community engagement
- Opportunities to interact directly with people with lived experience (PWLE), including patients, research participants, researchers, and clinicians with lived experience, to strengthen relevance and real-world impact
- Brief program evaluation activities to support continuous improvement of PACES
Additional opportunities (optional but encouraged):
- Informal social/networking sessions to support peer connection and collaboration
Monthly seminars will be pre-scheduled for the full cohort year to support planning and to facilitate participation across institutions and time zones. Dates will be announced in June, 2026. Check back here for a link to these seminar dates. Applicants should plan to attend most sessions live. We recognize that occasional conflicts may arise; seminars will be recorded and posted for later viewing when needed.
Who are PACES Scholars
PACES Scholars are junior investigators across the continuum of training and early career development, including graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, clinical trainees, and early-career faculty. Through the applicant selection process, we ensure equitable representation across the broad spectrum of rehabilitation research, including:
- Interdisciplinary - MDs, PTs, OTs, SLPs, PhDs, Engineers, Data Science/Biostatistics, Health Service Researchers and others
- Domains such as motor, cognitive, psychosocial, and speech/language
- Research involving children and adults
- Research conducted in clinical and laboratory settings
This structure is designed to expose participants to the full range of rehabilitation research spanning whole-person function across the lifespan.
What PACES Scholars gain
By the end of the cohort year, scholars leave with:
- Expanded capability and confidence to conduct and lead precision rehabilitation research
- A stronger interdisciplinary network and clearer research trajectory
- Concrete progress on a current “work-in-progress” (e.g., aims, proposal concept, pilot idea, manuscript direction, or methods plan)
- Increased readiness to pursue collaboration and funding opportunities
- A PACES Certificate in Precision Rehabilitation recognizing focused, mentored training and cohort-based experience in the scholar's area of interest, an achievement that can be cited in biosketches/CVs and used to demonstrate targeted preparation for future research and funding opportunities
PACES also serves as a potential pipeline to the PRECISE Center Pilot Grant Program, supporting scholars as they develop ideas and relationships that may lead to competitive pilot applications.
PACES Alumni Community
After completing the cohort year, scholars join the PACES Alumni Community, which is one part of the broader PRECISE Center Learning Community. The PACES Alumni Community is designed to sustain cross-disciplinary connections and create a longer-term pipeline for collaboration and career development. The PACES Alumni Community provides:
- Periodic alumni connection sessions to maintain relationships and share updates
- An opt-in directory and collaboration channel to support peer-to-peer problem solving and partnership building
- Opportunities for alumni to serve as peer mentors, discussants, or panelists for future PACES cohorts
- Continued sharing of funding opportunities, events, and collaborative projects relevant to precision rehabilitation research