Translational Research Training in Hematology (TRTH) provides junior researchers with a unique, year-long training and mentoring experience. The program is a joint effort of the European Hematology Association (EHA) and the American Society of Hematology (ASH) and is focused on helping early-career scientists build successful careers in hematologic translational research.
Twenty early-career scientists are selected each year to participate in this rigorous training program. TRTH faculty is made up of international leaders in hematology who cover biostatistics and biomarkers, genetics and molecular biology, ethics, and phase I clinical study design.
Learning Objectives
The TRTH program offers trainees the opportunity to:
- Discuss the principles of translational research design and execution, including clinical trials with correlative science objectives.
- Recognize the ethical and regulatory issues of translational research.
- Examine the fundamentals of competitive grant writing, abstract presentation, and manuscript preparation.
- Demonstrate the improvements in the quality of their own research proposals through input from faculty and peers.
- Formulate strategies for pursuing and developing a successful career in hematological research.
- Discuss approaches to forming and sustaining a multi-disciplinary translational research team.
- Practice preparing research results and presenting your work to diverse audiences.
- Develop contact with other trainees to facilitate future collaboration.
- Develop relationships with leaders in translational and clinical research who can enhance professional networking opportunities.
back to top The Year-Long TRTH Program
The TRTH program contains: a week-long spring course, a meeting at the EHA Annual Congress where trainees work on refining their research proposals, and a meeting at the ASH Annual Meeting where trainees make a final presentation on the status of their research. Attendance at all three meetings is mandatory.
Spring Course
The TRTH program begins with an intensive week-long course held in the spring. The 2015 spring course will be held from March 15-20, 2015 in the Southern part of Europe. Mornings are dedicated to didactic and interactive sessions which further trainees understanding of translational research methodology and regulatory requirements. Afternoons are devoted to small group sessions in which trainees meet with their TRTH mentors, peers, and faculty to refine their individual research proposals. Informal presentations by leaders in hematology, designed to illustrate the variety of pathways to a successful career in hematology research, take place in the evenings.
The week-long spring course includes the following components:
- Principles of translational research
An overview of methodologies for designing and executing clinical research studies with laboratory correlatives will be presented. Topics will include stem cell research, animal models, live cell and in vivo imaging, flow cytometry, cell therapy, cell and biobanking, design of clinical trials, principles of bioinformatics, molecular pathogenesis including genetics and epigenetics, pharmacogenomics, diagnostics and biomarkers, and identification of molecular targets. - Ethics in hematologic translational research
Discussions will focus on ethical and regulatory issues in Europe and North America related to translational research. Topics will include good clinical practice (GCP), quality care assurance, good manufacturing practice (GMP), relationships with the pharmaceutical and biotech industry, and intellectual property. - Career development insight
Career retrospectives are provided from leading hematologists with a broad experience in translational research. Hematology pioneers will speak about their personal and career challenges and successes, and maintaining a work-life balance. - Small-group working sessions
Small working group sessions enable trainees to refine their research projects together with other trainees and faculty. - Presentation of research proposals
Trainees will present their proposals at the beginning of the course; at the end, they will present revised proposals that incorporate the changes made throughout the week.
back to top Follow-up Meetings
Two follow-up meetings provide additional opportunities for trainees to develop professional interaction with peers and mentors and refine their research proposals. The first follow-up meeting takes place during the EHA Annual Congress in June 2015. At this meeting TRTH trainees and faculty will continue to refine projects through small group mentoring sessions. The second and final follow-up meeting is held in conjunction with the ASH Annual Meeting in December 2015. During this meeting, TRTH trainees present the status of their research projects and careers since the conclusion of the spring course
back to top Timeline
| Call for 2015 Applications Opens | February 14, 2014 |
| Full Application Deadline | August 1, 2014 |
| Notification of Awards | December 2014 |
| Spring Course | March 14 - 20, 2015 |
back to top Eligibility
Applicants must meet the following criteria in order to be considered for review:
- Applicant must be a trainee or junior faculty and hold an MD and/or PhD or biomedical PhD or pharmacy PharmD degree (or equivalents).
- Applicants must be actively employed in a hematology or hematology-related research environment.
- MD applicants must be within twelve years of post-graduation at the time of the deadline for the Letters of Intent. PhD applicants must have less than eight years of post-doc experience after graduation. Applicants holding both an MD and a PhD must be within 12 years of MD-graduation. Exceptions may be made for interruptions in an applicant's academic pursuits; however, such circumstances must be explained by the applicant in the Letter of Intent.
- Both the applicant and the applicant's mentor must be members of either EHA or ASH at the time of submission of the Letter of Intent and throughout the term of the award program.
- Applicants from the same program of an institution are eligible to apply; however, no more than one applicant from any one program and no more than two applicants from any one institution will be selected.
back to top Restriction
- Applicants with certain professional credentials will not be considered, such as principal investigators, applicants holding more senior faculty positions, including being an established research group leader, and applicants who have obtained funding indicative of independent research status.
- Applicants working primarily on clinical research projects will not be considered.
- Applicants who have been granted an EHA Fellowship or either an ASH Research Training Award for Fellows or a Scholars Award are not eligible to apply for the TRTH program during the research period of the awarded project.
- Applicants who have been accepted to ASH's Clinical Research Training Institute (CRTI) program and are still within the CRTI program year are not eligible to apply for the TRTH program until after they have completed the CRTI year.
back to top Costs
There is no registration or application fee, however, by applying, applicants agree that they will participate in all three meetings and respond to follow-up surveys in the future.
EHA and ASH arrange all travel and accommodation for the TRTH spring course and follow-up meetings as follows:
Spring Course
Travel, accommodation and food for the spring course are arranged and covered by EHA and ASH. Economy class airfare, up to € 1000, is arranged and covered by EHA and ASH.
Follow-up Meetings
Travel and accommodation for follow-up meetings are arranged and covered by EHA and ASH. Economy class airfare, up to € 1000 per meeting, is arranged and covered by EHA and ASH. Three nights accommodation, per follow-up meeting, are arranged in a designated hotel and covered by EHA and ASH.
The trainee is responsible for additional hotel nights and airfare costs above the established allowable amounts. Additional details of the TRTH travel policy are communicated to awardees upon acceptance into the program.
If there are special circumstances regarding the trainee's or institute's ability to cover additional costs, applicants are still encouraged to apply. The mentor should include an addendum that explains the financial difficulties that exist.
back to top TRTH Application Procedure
Guidelines
The focus of the TRTH program is on laboratory-based translational research. Research projects must be hypothesis driven and directly connected to some aspect of human biology. Projects may encompass any form of cellular, molecular, structural, biochemical, genetic, or other appropriate experimental approach using human biological material or human subjects with the aim of reaching novel insights into human biology. Pilot and early phase clinical studies translating the laboratory discoveries "to the beside" may be included in the proposal; however, pure clinical trial projects with laboratory correlatives will not be considered.
Proficiency in English is required.
How to apply
Only online applications will be accepted. To submit an application, please visit the EHA website. Call for 2015 Applications will open on February 14, 2014.
The application deadline is August 1, 2014.
Required Documents for Full Application
Applicants must submit all required documentation on time and meet the eligibility requirements in order to be considered. All submissions MUST be made through the on line application system only.
Applicant Documents
- Research Proposal and References (5-pages maximum + 1-page for references)
Provide a description of your project, as well as the specific aims of the project, plan of investigation, methods to be employed, and any relevant references. Your research proposal will be evaluated based on the following:
- Significance
The impact and/or outcome that may improve disease treatment or explain processes relevant to hematology. - Approach
Defined, testable hypothesis; preliminary data supporting your approach; appropriate experimental plan; appropriate statistical analysis plan; unambiguous endpoints; regulatory affairs addressed. - Feasibility
Timeline is appropriate for experimental plan and data analysis; funding has been obtained or has high probability of being obtained. - Innovation
Novel techniques or treatments are proposed. - Funding
- Applicant's Biosketch/CV (2-page max)
Provide your complete contact information, present position, training (including training in clinical and/or translational research), publications, and other relevant information. Your biosketch/CV will be evaluated based on the following:
- Personal qualifications
Previous training, research experience and productivity, and funding - Potential for success in an academic hematology-related career as an independent investigator
- Applicant's Career Development Plan (2-pages max and developed in cooperation with the mentor)
Please detail your career goals (related to prior experience), systematic plan to obtain experience and skills for an independent academic career in translational research, and available resources (such as courses, workshops, etc) at your home institution that you will personally use to advance your career. Your career development plan will be evaluated based on the following: - Appropriateness of research proposal and career development plan to develop career of the applicant and to lead to local, national, and/or international presentation
- Interest in and rationale for attending TRTH
Mentor Documents
The applicant's mentor must be a member of EHA and/or ASH and submit several documents in support of the applicant:
- Mentor's Statement of Support (2-page limit)
The mentor should describe the applicant's abilities and likelihood to succeed in pursuing an academic career in translational research.The mentor must also indicate and detail his/her: - Qualifications within the applicant's research area.
- Previous experience in research training.
- Supervision and mentorship to be provided to the applicant during the TRTH award year.
- Commitment to providing a productive environment for the applicant to pursue the project.
- Indication of why/how TRTH will be beneficial to the applicant.
- Mentor's BioSketch/CV (2-page limit)
Including complete contact information, present position, training (including training in clinical and or translational research), publications, and other relevant information. The mentor’s documents will be evaluated based on the following: - Mentor's personal qualifications
Productivity and research support, as evidence by the mentor's CV/Biosketch. - Mentoring experience and plans for mentoring and enhancing the career development of the applicant, environment for conducting the proposed research.
A past history of the mentor working with the trainee, the quality of that interaction may be included in the consideration of the mentoring plan.
Formatting
- All required documents of the applicant and mentor must be collated and submitted as one single pdf.
- Documents must be typed using a 12-point font and have 1-inch margins.
- Applicant name must appear in the lower right-hand corner of each page.
- The final submission pdf should be named as follows:Lastname_Firstname_Institution.pdf.
(Example: Smith_Jane_UniversityofHamburg.pdf)
Evaluation Procedure
A study section will review all full applications based on the following criteria:
- The applicant's personal qualifications, as assessed by the Career Development Plan.
- The proposal/s significance, approach, and feasibility. Completion of the proposal within the year of the TRTH is not necessary, by a clear plan for the timeline of the study and data analysis is essential.
- The mentor's experience and plans for supporting the applicant, as evidenced by the Mentor's Biosketch/CV and Statement of Support.
Awardees will be notified by December 1, 2014.
back to top Corporate Support
Premium Sponsor
- Amgen, Inc.
- Celgene Corporation
- Incyte
- Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company
- Novartis Oncology
Major Sponsor
TRTH Program Partner
back to top Questions
For more information, please contact the EHA Executive Office at
training@ehaweb.org.
back to top