Apply for the Clinical Research Training Institute

ASH's inaugural Clinical Research Training Institute (CRTI) was held August 2 - 9, 2003, in Dana Point, CA, and was an unqualified success. In post-workshop follow-up correspondence, some participants called it “a life-altering experience” and “one of the most meaningful experiences of my life.”

Applications are currently being accepted for the second annual CRTI, a year-long experience designed to furnish hematology/oncology fellows and junior faculty physicians with a head start on a career in patient-oriented clinical research.

The CRTI will begin this summer with an intensive six-day workshop from July 31 - August 6 in Dana Point, CA. The summer program will include morning plenary sessions, afternoon breakout sessions, and one-on-one mentoring opportunities organized around these key components: principles of clinical research, current issues in hematology clinical research, clinical research careers in hematology, career retrospectives in hematology clinical research, and small group working sessions.

Throughout the year, participants will have the opportunity to work closely with leaders in the hematology field to refine and revise an individual clinical research project. There will also be two, one-day follow-up meetings: the first in December at the ASH annual meeting in San Diego, CA, and the second in the spring at the ASH Headquarters in Washington, DC.

Individuals interested in participating in the CRTI should send a letter of intent to the review committee by February 15, 2004:

ASH Clinical Research Training Institute Review Committee
American Society of Hematology
1900 M Street N.W., Suite 200
Washington, DC 20036

To enhance the learning and mentoring experience, only 20 students will be selected for the CRTI. Participants will be notified of their acceptance by April 30th. For more information about the CRTI, please e-mail training@hematology.org or visit the ASH Web site.

ASH is grateful for the support of the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation and the many ASH members who have contributed to the program. We are also appreciative of our 2004 co-sponsors: the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; the National Cancer Institute; the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Get Involved With the Minority Medical Student Award Program

As part of the new ASH Minority Recruitment Initiative designed to attract more minorities into hematology, the Minority Medical Student Award Program (MMSAP) – a six- to eight-week summer research experience for medical students from the United States and Canada in their early years of training – will begin in the spring of 2004. Interested minority medical students should visit the ASH Web site to apply by February 15, 2004.

Each participant will be supported by two mentors – one institutional (where the research is being done) and one advisory (neither at home nor where research is being done). For each research experience, institutional mentors will receive an allowance of $2,000 for supplies and an allowance of $1,000/year for attendance at the ASH annual meeting. Advisory mentors will receive an allowance of $1,000/year for attendance at the ASH annual meeting. ASH needs institutions to host the research experiences as well as individual members to serve as mentors. If you are interested in volunteering, please e-mail LaFaundra Neville.