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 spring course will be held from March 9-16, 2018, in the Southern part of Europe. Mornings are dedicated to didactic and interactive sessions which further trainees understanding of translational research methodology and career development. 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, gene editing 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 enables participants to refine their research projects with each other and with faculty. These sessions take place daily during the Spring Meeting and are an important part of the program, forging bonds for collaboration and in-depth improvements of your research proposal.
• Presentation of research proposals
  Participants 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 23rd EHA Annual Congress in June 2018. 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 2018. During this meeting, TRTH trainees present the status of their research projects and careers since the conclusion of the spring courseback to top

Timeline

                                   

LOI Deadline	July 6, 2017
Full Application Deadline	October 1, 2017
Notification of Awards	Early December 2017
Spring Course	March 9-16, 2018

back to top

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following criteria in order to be considered for review:

• Applicants must be a trainee or junior faculty and hold an MD and/or PhD or biomedical PhD or pharmacy PharmD degree (or equivalents). Eligible applicants are defined as applicants who at the time of their application and for the duration of the TRTH program are in hematology-related fellowship/postdoctoral training or are junior faculty or are program group leaders who have completed their fellowship training within the past three years.
• Fellowship training is defined as any sub-specialty training in hematology irrespective of whether this training is concurrent with another training program.
• Applicant 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 full application. PhD applicants must have less than eight years of post-doc experience after graduation at the time of the deadline for full application. 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 application.
• Both the applicant and the applicant's mentor must be EHA member or EHA Guest or ASH member at the time of LOI submission and throughout the term of the award program. If you are not a member of ASH, you may apply today to join our global community of hematologist. 
• Applicants from the same institution or with the same mentor are eligible to apply; however, no more than one participant working in the same lab/research unit will be selected, no more than two participants from the same institution will be selected, and no more than one participant from a specific mentor will be selected.
• Institution is defined as the institution where the applicant will be conducting research during the TRTH program year, not the location of a prior mentor or a department head at an institution the applicant may return to later. Mentor is defined as the research supervisor at that institution.

back to top

Restrictions

• 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, applicants who have obtained funding indicative of independent research status, and tenure-track faculty with more than 2 years' experience at this faculty level.
• TRTH is not designed for those with less than 1-2 years of postdoctoral research experience.
• Applicants working primarily on clinical research projects will not be considered.
• Applicants cannot be awarded for multiple career development opportunities in the same program year. Participation in the TRTH program in a certain year will disqualify the applicant for a Research award, CRTI program or other funding opportunities provided by ASH or EHA awarded in that particular calendar year. However, awards may be given to previous award winners in subsequent years. One can apply for these other opportunities a year after having participated in TRTH.
• 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.
• Applicants must be in the possession of a valid passport and/or permits that allow them to travel abroad.

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. Participants are responsible for arranging their own VISA and valid travel documents in order to allow them to attend all TRTH Meetings.

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 participant 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 participant'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 bedside" 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. Once you access the online application system, create an account and select the TRTH 2018 option in the drop-down menu. Complete the registration and upload documents and information as necessary.

TRTH has a two-step application process which begins with submitting an LOI. Only selected applicants are invited to proceed to the second step of the application procedure. The applicant must be a member of EHA and/or ASH to be considered eligible for TRTH.

Letter of Intent
Submit your LOI & Applicant Information Form, CV/Biosketch, and project abstract. Those who are eligible will be invited to submit a full application.

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 online application system only.

Applicant Documents

• Abstract of your research project (max 3000 characters)
• 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)

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

Information for Mentor

The applicant's mentor must be a member of EHA and/or ASH and submit several documents in support of the applicant. Please keep in mind when discussing this career development opportunity with your associates that applicants with the same mentor are eligible to apply; however, no more than one participant from a specific mentor will be selected.

If your associate is invited to submit a full application after the Letter of Intent has been evaluated, the following will be expected from you as mentor:

• 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, describing previous experience in research training.
• Commitment to providing a productive environment for the applicant to pursue the project; supervision and mentorship are expected throughout the TRTH award year.
• 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.
• Letter of Recommendation
  In addition to Mentor's Statement of support a second letter of recommendation describing the applicant's abilities and likelihood to succeed in pursuing an academic career in translational research is required.

back to top

Corporate Support

• Astellas Pharma
• Bristol-Myers Squibb
• Gilead Sciences, Inc.
• Takeda Oncology

Visit ASH's Corporate Support page for more information on support for the ASH-EHA Translational Research Training in Hematology program.

back to top

Questions

For more information, please contact the EHA Executive Office at training@ehaweb.org. back to top