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It's fall, a time we say good-bye to summer interns and hello to new trainees, including fellows and students enrolled in clinical research training courses. In this newsletter, NIH Clinical Research Connections, we highlight a few familiar faces that have returned to the NIH to participate in clinical training programs. Please forward to others who might be interested. Also, please contact us with story ideas or feedback on this newsletter. As always, thank you for your support!
From CRTP to GME: Clinical Fellows Return to NIH
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| From left to right: Mr. Kenny Williams, CRTP Program Coordinator; Dr. Kit Lu, CRTP Alumnus and NHLBI Fellow; Dr. Joohee Lee, CRTP Alumnus and NIAID Fellow; Dr. Fred Ognibene, Clinical Center Deputy Director, Educational Affairs and Strategic Partnerships. |
This summer has not only delivered record-setting temperatures to most of the country, it has also been a period when a record number of Clinical Research Training Program (CRTP) alumni have come back to the NIH for training and job opportunities. This past July, three 2006-2007 CRTP alumni began postdoctoral fellowships within the institutes/centers (IC) they trained in as CRTP fellows. Drs. Joohee Lee and Kit Lu are doing ACGME-accredited fellowships in Allergy and Immunology (NIAID), and Hematology (NHLBI) respectively. Dr. Thai Lan Tran is taking time away from her surgery residency to do a fellowship in Surgical Oncology in the NCI. All of them have mentioned how the CRTP played a vital role in their careers so far and expressed how excited they are to be back. "The mentors I established through CRTP continued to support me through residency. This left a deep impression on me and it reflected favorably upon not just CRTP, but the NIH as an institution of learning and discovery" Dr. Lee said.
"I had a very rewarding experience during my time as a CRTP fellow," said Dr. Lu. "I was inspired by the enthusiasm and passion of the various renowned scientists at the NIH. That year has certainly impacted my career decision in pursuing a career in clinical research. The wealth of academic support, role models, and mentorships were some of the reasons why I decided to return to the NIH for my postdoctoral training as a hematology fellow."
Offering opportunities for past trainees to eventually come back as staff clinicians and tenure-track physicians has been a major goal of the NIH and two past CRTP fellows have successfully been the first to do so. Tiffany Powell accepted a position as an Assistant Clinical Investigator with the Cardiovascular Pulmonary Branch, of the NHLBI which is the institute in which she trained as a CRTP fellow (2002-2003) under the mentorship of Dr. Richard Cannon.
Sarah Kranick (2003-2004 CRTP fellow) recently completed a Medical Neurology fellowship this summer, and is now the Chief of the Neurology Consult Service in NINDS.
The program continues to flourish and is now in its 15th year. The 2011-2012 CRTP fellows started this summer and the class consists of 19 females and 11 males from 18 different medical / dental schools. The class of 30 includes two dental and two osteopathic students.
Remember to keep the pipeline of intramural training opportunities as well as staff positions in mind as possible stepping stones for your career pathway. For more information, visit our website, http://www.cc.nih.gov/training/index.html.
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Summer Intern Alum
When Britanne Socks interned at the NIH in 2003, she worked hands-on with staff in the Clinical Center’s informatics department. "I worked closely with the project manager and helped in the organization and [maintenance] of the Clinical Center computer system," Britanne said.
Fast forward seven years. As a first year medical student in the summer of 2010, Britanne returned to the NIH and had the opportunity to participate in clinical research in the radiology department. Her project included measuring abdominal organs on CT scans in order to determine their volumes. "For the first time I was able to observe an experimental procedure in the interventional radiology department- hepatic chemoembolization. The summer was amazing and further spurred my interests in clinical research as a career."
Now, a third year medical student at Southern Illinois University, Britanne is strongly considering research as a career. In order to explore this possibility, she is interested in taking a year off after her third year to do research at the NIH. "My summer experiences at NIH have expanded my interests. There are aspects of medicine I was not familiar with and thus would not have considered career options. I am grateful for the opportunities I have had and I look forward to what lies ahead for me."
For more information, visit the Summer Internship Program website.
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Sabbatical Participants Visit NIAID Regulatory Group
 When Dr. Cailian Kang (pictured right, center) and Dr. Jinbo Yang completed the Introduction to the Principles and Practice of Clinical Research (IPPCR) course in Beijing, they inquired about the Sabbatical in Clinical Research Management program at the Clinical Center to receive more training to help them in their careers. "Both of us are medical reviewers mainly responsible for drug's clinical trial data and related regulatory affairs," said Dr. Yang. "It's necessary for us to understand the principles [and] management of clinical trial(s)."
Hearing about the rich resources and knowledge at the NIH, Drs. Kang and Yang applied and were accepted into the Sabbatical program. As one of their first sabbatical electives in July 2011, they visited the regulatory affairs group in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to review their administrative processes. They were particularly impressed by the protocol development and protocol navigation team within NIAID, and will follow-up with them to observe a protocol determination meeting and a preliminary-investigational new drug meeting with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). "[The teams] do a great job to coordinate with different groups and push clinical trials forward," Kang said.
Drs. Kang and Yang will be on sabbatical at the NIH through fall 2011.
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Clinical Training Programs Spotlighted in August CC News
Two of our training programs were spotlighted in the August CC News. Check out the articles—"New NIH Fellows Receive Warm Reception" and "Registration for Pharmacology Course Open."
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