Clinical Research Training Institute Mediterranean, Middle East, and North Africa

The ASH Clinical Research Training Institute (CRTI) Mediterranean, Middle East, and North Africa (MMENA) is a three-day highly-interactive in-person workshop intended for fellows and early- to mid-career hematology faculty working in countries the Mediterranean, Middle East, and North African regions who wish to become more familiar with clinical trial design and execution. As a participant, you will:

• Build the foundation and explore the methodologies of patient-oriented clinical research.
• Strengthen the fundamental skills needed to become a successful patient-oriented clinical leader.
• Gain extensive networking opportunities with others who share the same passion.
• Develop a potential capstone project that builds upon skills learned during the curriculum and small group peer-reviews.
• Receive individualized mentorship from program faculty to advance your proposed project.

Your ASH profile must be up-to-date with your home address and your work address. Please login to your profile and ensure both addresses are added. If both addresses are present, please be sure that one address has the label “Home” and the second address has the label “Work”. Then you may begin an application.

Key Dates

There is no fee to apply to the CRTI-MMENA program. Participants' housing and travel expenses to attend the CRTI-MMENA will be covered by ASH. Additionally, participants receive complimentary registration and two additional hotel nights to attend the Highlights of ASH in the Mediterranean, Middle East, and North Africa.

Eligibility Requirements

Applicants to CRTI-MMENA must meet the following criteria:

• Be a hematology fellow or faculty member in a qualifying country who at the time of the application due date has received their MD
  • Within the past 15 years if from a low- or middle-income country,*
  • Within the past 12 years if not from a low- or middle-income country
  • Fellowship training is defined as any sub-specialty training in hematology irrespective of whether this training is concurrent with another training program.

  *Please review ASH's list of low- and middle-income countries.

• Be a clinician (medical doctor, nurse, psychologist, etc.) with a clinical practice in classical or malignant hematology and hold an MD and/or PhD or biomedical PhD, PharmD, DNP degree (or equivalents).
  • Please note that a clinical practice exclusively in solid tumors and research interests focused exclusively on laboratory-based/translational research are not sufficient to qualify.
  • Investigators who are principally employed by pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies are not eligible to apply.
• Be fluent in written and spoken English.
• Be a physician actively working in and living in one of the following countries during time of application and during the workshop:

Your ASH profile must be up-to-date with your home address and your work address. Please login to your profile and ensure both addresses are added. If both addresses are present, please be sure that one address has the label “Home” and the second address has the label “Work”. Then you may begin an application.

Applicants cannot be past recipients of the CRTI-MMENA award.

Criteria for Evaluation, Selection, and Notification

All eligible applications will be reviewed by a study section, and up to 15 qualified candidates will be selected to attend. The selection criteria include:

• Meet application eligibility requirements.
• Demonstrate the potential to develop and sustain an investigator-initiated clinical research career in hematology. This will be adjudicated based upon the CV, research proposal, and goals for attendance.

How to Apply

The CRTI-MMENA application, as well as all supporting documents outlined below, must be submitted electronically through the ASH online awards portal.

If you experience any technical issues with accessing the application, please contact [email protected] with your name, the award you are applying for, a description of the issue, and a screenshot/picture of the issue you are having. All inquiries related to a technical issue or any other issue must be received before the stated application deadline's date and time. Please refer to the Key Dates section of this webpage to confirm the date, time, and time zone of the application deadline.

All applications must include the following:

• Curriculum vitae (CV) (maximum five pages) with applicant’s complete contact information, description of the applicant’s present faculty position (including title of the position, major responsibilities, and start date), prior training in clinical research (if any), publications, list of trainees the applicant has mentored and their current position (if any), and any other relevant information specific to the applicant’s career in clinical research (please include dates where applicable). The CV must clearly distinguish between peer-reviewed publications from abstracts presented at conferences. For a detailed guide on how to build a curriculum vitae, watch our webinar on “How to Develop a CV”. Note: You must login to ASH Academy to view these resources. You may create a free account to see content on ASH Academy.
• Research Proposal & References (2-page limit for proposal and 1-page limit for references). The proposal should include the following components: background / nature of the problem / the research question; aims and / or objectives; research method, including considerations such as intended population / intervention / end points / statistics / feasibility; significance if research outcomes.
• Goals for attendance (one to two paragraphs). Applicants should state how attendance at CRTI-MMENA will enhance their career. Any submission that does not follow the application requirements, is not formatted correctly, is lacking information, has incorrect information, or is lacking required documents may be deemed ineligible and may not be reviewed by the study section. There will be no appeals or consideration for further review once an application has been determined to be ineligible.

Any submission that does not follow the application requirements, is not formatted correctly, is lacking information, has incorrect information, or is lacking required documents may be deemed ineligible and may not be reviewed by the study section. There will be no appeals or consideration for further review once an application has been determined to be ineligible.

Terms and Conditions

As a condition of acceptance to the Clinical Research Training Institute in Mediterranean, Middle East, or North Africa, you are required to:

• Be actively working in and living in a country in the Mediterranean, Middle East, or North Africa throughout the duration of the program (from the time the application form is due through the workshop).
• Adhere to all required deadlines.
• Participate in all components of the program, including the virtual content prior to the workshop, the virtual content after the workshop, and all days of the in-person workshop. Missing any component of the program may result in loss of certificate or other action at the discretion of program leadership. Those selected will be responsible for making arrangements with their institution to attend the CRTI-MMENA program. ASH will coordinate with selected participants for travel and lodging accommodations.
  • Obtain a visa to enter the hosting country (if necessary) as part of their travel arrangements.
  • Make airline reservations through Global Travel Associates, ASH’s official travel agent, by the provided deadline.
• Attend and participate in each small group meeting during the workshop.
• Give a PowerPoint presentation on your submitted research proposal during CRTI-MMENA.
• Complete the ASH Conflict-of-Interest (COI) form and abide by the ASH COI policy.
• Execute a confidentiality agreement.
• Cite support from the American Society of Hematology in any publications resulting from the CRTI project.
• Respond to future inquiries from ASH regarding your career progression.

Acceptance into CRTI-MMENA cannot be transferred or deferred.

Questions?

For questions regarding the Clinical Research Training Institute - Mediterranean, Middle East, and North Africa, please contact the ASH Training Department at [email protected]