Trainees

Hematology Career Planner

Every hematology trainee, whether an MD/DO or PhD, should have a plan for career success. To help you start planning for a successful career in hematology, the ASH Trainee Council has created this career-development tool.

MD/DO

  • Meet with local hematologists to learn about their careers and lifestyle.
  • Decide if hematology is your calling by the end of your first year.
  • Develop a vision and map out your future.
    • Continuously revise a plan for your clinical and scholarly life.
    • Set short- and long-term goals; revise and reevaluate these regularly.
  • Identify a mentor and project by the beginning of your second year.
    • Select a mentor(s) whose focus is on either classical or malignant hematology.
  • Identify faculty early in your residency for letters of recommendation, including:
    • a hematology faculty member,
    • someone able to write a personal letter, and
    • someone who is relatively well known.
  • Work on a hematology-related project.
    • Work on short-term, achievable projects (e.g., retrospective studies, case series, and learning how to complete an IRB).
    • Have your own project (first author, preferably).
  • Join ASH as a Resident member. Membership is free, and applications are considered on a rolling basis.
  • Attend the ASH annual meeting throughout residency.
    • Submit abstracts, if possible.
    • Attend special trainee events to make the most your ASH annual meeting experience.
  • Learn the fundamentals of internal medicine and/or pediatrics.
    • Rotate in hematology clinics and consult electives.
    • Read TraineE-News and Blood publications.
  • Apply for fellowship at the beginning of your third year, keeping in mind your personal and career goals. Consider the following:
    • For internal medicine, single boarding versus double boarding
    • Classical versus malignant hematology (it is okay if you have not decided on one)
    • Basic science/translational versus clinical/outcomes research
  • Complete institutional CITI GCP, HIPAA compliance, and ethical conduct of research.
  • Search for and identify mentors, recognizing that there are different types of mentors (research, career, coach).
    • Interview senior faculty who have achieved your professional or personal goals.
    • Establish expectations by discussing career direction (interest in similar projects), support (money, space, ancillary staff), and availability (frequency of meeting, revision of grant proposals and manuscripts).
    • Learn the “invisible ladders” in academic medicine: salary, compensation, promotion, publication, and grant.
  • Decide on academic career “tracks” early on. Some options to consider include:
    • Clinical investigator and trialist
    • Outcomes and epidemiologic researcher
    • Physician scientist with a laboratory
    • Master clinician and physician educator
  • Pave the road towards a successful research team.
    • Work on short-term, achievable projects that may lead to publications (e.g., retrospective studies, case series, review articles, and meta-analyses).
    • Plan on long-term projects that can be completed during research time.
  • Join ASH as an Associate member. Be sure to ask your training program about enrolling through the ASH Fundamentals for Hematology Fellows (FHF) program
    • As an ASH member, you will get access to the ASH Self-Assessment Program, Blood, and other ASH publications. If enrolled through FHF, you will also receive one complimentary ASH meeting registration.
  • Join the ASH Trainee Council to meet other fellows and senior ASH members. Applications are due in early-April.
  • Attend the ASH annual meeting.
    • Submit an abstract by the deadline in early-August.
    • Attend special trainee events to make the most of your annual meeting experience.
  • Identify collaborators, such as co-fellows, lab researchers, data analysts, and statisticians.
  • Learn the fundamentals of malignant and classical hematology.
    • Consider a rotation in transfusion medicine/blood banking and/or transplant
    • Become a local expert in one disease or field.
  • Deliver presentations locally in medical schools and grand rounds.
    • Update your CV on a regular basis, adding any major presentations.
  • Complete institutional CITI GCP, HIPAA compliance, and ethical conduct of research.
  • Prepare in advance to apply to an MPN or MS graduate program, if appropriate for your career path. Applications will be due in December of your second year.
  • Decide on a career pathway goal early on.
    • Discuss directions and goals with your research mentor and department chair.
    • Clearly define primary and secondary projects.
    • Allocate time to each of the following: projects, grants, networking, and education.
  • Continue to develop your mentor relationships.
    • Meet with your primary mentor(s) on a weekly basis.
    • Discuss expectations for funding and start thinking about grants.
    • Be a good mentee by setting concrete goals, being timely and prepared for meetings, and being willing to accept and act on advice or criticism.
  • Work on your primary project whenever possible.
    • Continue to build your research team.
    • Turn early results into abstracts.
    • Turn abstracts into small manuscripts.
    • Turn manuscripts into grant proposals.
  • Work on smaller secondary projects that have a high likelihood of publication.
    • Consider reviews, meta-analysis, and feasibility projects.
    • Turn each project into a manuscript before starting a new project.
    • Avoid having too many secondary projects, which can become distractions.
  • Attend the ASH annual meeting.
    • Submit an abstract by the deadline in early-August.
    • Attend special trainee events to make the most of your annual meeting experience.
  • Continue to deliver presentations locally and nationally and keep a “teaching dossier.”
  • Become a local expert in hematology through patient care and experience.
    • Take courses and obtain certificates that complement your research direction.
    • Consider getting an MS or MPH, if appropriate for your career path.
    • Consider training in a special coagulation lab or hemophilia center.
    • Consider applying for a subspecialty fellowship training program, if appropriate (e.g., BMT, thrombosis, vascular medicine, or transfusion medicine).
  • Understand expectations that determine success for junior faculty.
    • If you are a clinical investigator, try to gain national prominence in a thematic area relevant to your department’s mission, design/run clinical trials, and publish reviews/studies.
    • If you are a physician scientist, try to gain national prominence in a thematic area relevant to your department’s mission and work towards getting an R01.
    • If you are a physician educator, try to provide a record of contribution or record of publication (you will most likely have less protected research time).
  • Begin the job application process in September/October for a July start date.
    • Academic institutions may hire a “good addition” before formal job posting.
  • Meet with your primary mentor and fellowship program director to discuss cover letter writing and obtain appropriate contact emails.
  • Search for positions nationally and/or regionally (consider applying to all programs if geographically restricted).
    • Check ASH and other professional society websites for existing job postings.
    • Try to determine strengths/needs at each institution/clinic.
    • Can you find a niche to complement what is already present?
  • Email your CV and cover letter to the recommended contact person or division head. Follow instructions if replying to formal job posting.
    • Most programs reply in two to four weeks to express interest or say they are not hiring. If more time has passed without a reply, consider sending another email or see if your mentor/other faculty can reach out to a colleague where you applied.
  • Interviews for a July start date generally occur between November and February.
    • Keep in mind that the interview structure may differ from one institution to another (e.g. two-interview process, coupled with presentation at grand round, versus single comprehensive interview). Make sure you are prepared for the interview day structure.
  • Review all offers with your mentor and senior faculty at your home institution to help with the decision.

PhD

  • Choose a dissertation mentor and a laboratory.
    • Select lab rotations to evaluate if the mentor can develop your research interest.
    • Critically evaluate your criteria and preferences for mentor selection.
    • Meet and talk to lab members and gather information on graduation timeline, funding sources, publication records, and life after graduation.
    • Choose a lab where you will be satisfied spending the next four to five years.
  • Identify a research project.
    • Figure out potential projects during lab rotations.
    • Outline a thesis project by the middle to end of your second year, and evaluate if research goals are realistically achievable within the PhD timeline.
    • Determine your interest among basic, translational, and clinical projects.
  • Apply for NIH predoctoral fellowship (NRSA-F31) or similar opportunities in your second year.
  • Apply for institutional training grants and mentoring fellowships for doctoral students.
  • Use ASH’s Grants Clearinghouse to find relevant grant opportunities.
  • Join ASH as a graduate student member.
  • Attend the ASH annual meeting.
    • Submit an abstract by the deadline in early-August.
    • Attend special trainee events to make the most of your annual meeting experience.
  • Prepare for qualifying exams and thesis proposal.
  • Take scientific writing courses and attend grant writing workshops.
  • Attend institutional/departmental seminars and journal clubs.
  • Decide on academic versus non-academic career paths early.
    • Academic route: Look for postdoc positions outside your institution, and continue to build connections.
    • Non-academic route: Identify postdocs or positions in industry, scientific writing, editing, consulting, patent law, etc.
    • Alternative career paths: Meet and talk to people outside academia who have achieved similar professional or personal goals.
  • Publish in a peer-reviewed journal.
    • Plan on submitting at least one high-impact primary author publication and one small publication by your fourth year.
    • Start early by organizing the figures and result section, fill in required gaps by continuing experiments, and then finish the introduction and discussion.
    • Work on short-term achievable projects that can lead to likely publications, even if they are smaller.
    • Consider writing one or two review articles or commentary on your research related topic with a research advisor or a collaborator.
  • Continue to apply for predoctoral fellowships available from federal or non-federal organizations.
  • Consider applying for smaller grants, institutional awards, or joint grants with collaborators.
  • Use ASH’s Grants Clearinghouse to find hematology-related grant opportunities.
  • Every application, even if it does not get funded, is a chance to learn how to turn results into grant proposals by developing a clear research plan.
  • Develop a collaborative network.
    • Identify collaborators, including co-trainees, post-docs, bioinformaticians, and statisticians.
    • Establish expectations and clarify authorship order if a collaborative project matures to the publication level.
    • Be cautious about getting involved in too many collaborative projects, and always prioritize your own thesis project.
  • Attend the ASH annual meeting.
    • Submit an abstract by the deadline in early-August.
    • Attend special trainee events, including the ASH Trainee Council reception, to meet co-fellows and senior ASH members.
  • Prioritize and make progress on your thesis project.
    • Clearly outline a project proposal and plan timeline for achievement of each aim.
    • Continue to build data and design experiments to ask hypothesis-driven questions.
    • Aim to turn each project into a manuscript.
    • Avoid having too many secondary projects that can become distractions.
    • Consider summarizing results regularly to visualize a bigger picture by regularly presenting at lab meetings or departmental seminars.
  • Take courses on statistics, large data analysis platforms, or learn programming language if it is applicable to the research project.
  • Update your CV constantly to maintain track of talks, posters, publications, and grants.
  • Prepare your NIH biosketch for postdoctoral position application.
  • Attend career-development workshops and talks at your local institution and at conferences.
  • Identify a research area and mentor.
    • Identify a research area you would like to pursue as a long-term career after transitioning to independence (consider translational research).
    • Choose a mentor with a good track-record of supporting postdoctoral trainees.
    • Evaluate the lab environment, scientific productivity, publication record, and funding sources during your lab visit.
    • Evaluate institutional environment and resources critical for future grant applications.
    • Contact previous trainees who recently graduated from the same lab.
  • Continue to develop mentor relationships.
    • Meet with your advisor on a weekly basis.
    • Discuss expectations for funding and think about grants early.
    • Set a clear timeline for postdoc training (not more than 5 years).
    • Be a proactive mentee: set concrete goals, be timely and prepared at meetings, be willing to accept and act on advice or criticism, and be trustworthy.
  • Understand expectations that determine transition to an independent position.
    • Academic tenured track: Gain national prominence in a thematic area relevant to postdoc research, and demonstrate independence at the postdoc level by publishing in a high-profile journal and receiving funding.
    • Independent group leader in industry: Gain national prominence in an area relevant to your field of interest by publishing, applying for patents, designing therapeutic compounds, and developing your expertise.
    • Non-tenured track/teaching: Gain teaching experience to transition to an instructor position.
    • Start looking for alternative career paths early if academia does not interest you.
  • Focus on your primary research project.
    • Continue to build the research team.
    • Turn early results into abstracts.
    • Turn abstracts into small manuscripts.
    • Turn manuscripts into grant proposals.
  • Work on smaller secondary projects that have high likelihood of publication.
    • Consider reviews, meta-analysis, and feasibility projects.
    • Turn each project into a manuscript before starting a new one.
    • Avoid having too many secondary projects that can become distractions.
  • Apply for postdoctoral fellowships in your first year, including NIH F32, ACS Postdoctoral Fellowship, or NCS.
  • Apply for career-development awards, such as the ASH Scholar Award and Translational Research Training in Hematology in your second or third year.
  • Apply for one of the ASH Abstract Achievement Awards as a postdoctoral fellow and earn the opportunity to present your work at the ASH annual meeting.
  • Use ASH’s Grants Clearinghouse to find hematology-related grant opportunities.
  • Apply for institutional grant support even if it is a small amount of funding.
  • Apply for NIH K99/R00 (pathway to independence) in your fourth year.
  • Apply for NIH K22 or similar career transition grants if unsuccessful with K99, and eventually turn it into an R01.
  • Showcase your research by doing departmental, national, and international presentations as talks or posters.
  • Go to small meetings to develop your network and to get to know the leaders in your field.
  • Attend the ASH annual meeting.
    • Submit an abstract by the deadline in early-August.
    • Attend special trainee events to make the most of your annual meeting experience.
  • Continue to deliver presentations locally and nationally and keep a teaching dossier.
  • Attend grant writing workshops and career-related talks about how to succeed in academia or industry.
  • Take courses and obtain certificates that can complement your research direction.
  • Consider doing two short postdocs instead of one if your first postdoctoral experience doesn’t fit your needs.