2009-07-13

(WASHINGTON) – Twenty hematology and hematology/oncology fellows and junior faculty will begin a unique year-long education and mentoring program this summer as part of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Clinical Research Training Institute.

The ASH Clinical Research Training Institute provides aspiring hematologists with the necessary tools to begin careers in clinical research. The annual program begins with a week-long summer workshop that focuses on the fundamentals of research and includes practical information on topics such as how to form and sustain a multi-disciplinary research team, how to secure research funding, and how to navigate the regulatory rules governing clinical trials.

In addition to attending lectures and small-group discussions, participants work on their own proposed clinical research projects with input from expert faculty. Further mentoring opportunities are provided at two subsequent sessions, one at the ASH annual meeting in December and one the following spring.

“It is crucial to provide fellows and junior faculty with the chance to develop their clinical research skills,” said ASH President Nancy Berliner, MD, Chief of Hematology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. “But even more importantly, this program provides each participant with a supportive peer network and introduces them to leaders in hematology who will serve as mentors throughout their careers.”

The 2009 ASH Clinical Research Training Institute participants are:

Karim Abou-Nassar, MD, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Paul M. Barr, MD, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH
Lucien Vandy Black, MD, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL
Amanda B. Blair, MD, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
Amanda M. Brandow, DO, MS, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI
Robert W. Chen, MD, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA
Wei Ding, MD, PhD, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
Melissa J. Frei-Jones, MD, MSCI, UT Health Science Center San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
Sumit Gupta, MD, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Richard H. Ko, MD, MHS, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles    , CA
Holbrook E. Kohrt, MD, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA
Kami J. Maddocks, MD, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Peter Martin, MD, MS, Weill Cornell Medical College/Faculty of Medicine, New York, NY
Paul C. Moorehead, MD, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Matthew J. Olnes, MD, PhD, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Bethesda, MD
Ran Reshef, MD, Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Mark A. Schroeder, MD, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
Nina Shah, MD, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Nirmish Shah, MD, Duke University, Durham, NC
Robert F. Sidonio Jr., MD, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA

This program is offered to hematology and hematology/oncology fellows, as well as junior faculty who are within three years of completing their fellowship training at academic medical centers in the United States and Canada.

To arrange an interview with a Clinical Research Training Institute participant, please contact Patrick C. Irelan, ASH Communications Assistant, at 202-776-0544 or pirelan@hematology.org.

The American Society of Hematology (www.hematology.org) is the world’s largest professional society concerned with the causes and treatment of blood disorders. Its mission is to further the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disorders affecting blood, bone marrow, and the immunologic, hemostatic, and vascular systems, by promoting research, clinical care, education, training, and advocacy in hematology. In September, ASH launched Blood: The Vital Connection (www.bloodthevitalconnection.org), a credible online resource addressing bleeding and clotting disorders, anemia, and cancer. It provides hematologist-approved information about these common blood conditions including risk factors, preventive measures, and treatment options.

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