ASBMT Begins Transplant Clinical Research
Training Course
Next July in Keystone
A new ASBMT Transplant Clinical Research Training Course will be held for fellows-in-training and junior faculty next July 18-23 in Keystone, Colo.
Tuition, travel, housing and meal expenses will be paid by the society for six fellows and four junior faculty. Participants will be competitively selected.
The course directors will be Daniel Weisdorf, MD, of the University of Minnesota, and Nelson Chao, MD, of Duke University. They, respectively, are secretary and immediate-past president of ASBMT.
Major funding for the clinical research training course will be provided by Amgen, Merck, PDL BioPharma and Abbott Molecular.
Course Objectives
The concept of a clinical research training course emanated from a Board of Directors strategic planning retreat. “The board members felt that existing fellowship programs don’t adequately train clinical fellows in the principles of clinical research in blood and marrow transplantation,” said Armand Keating, MD, ASBMT past-president and chair of the committee to develop the training course. “Training programs for fellows rarely adequately cover the principles of taking basic research findings from the laboratory to the clinic.
“Most programs also don’t prepare the best young physicians for academic careers in blood and marrow transplantation. We expect the ASBMT training course to address those deficiencies and help close the gap,” Dr. Keating said.
Curriculum
The research training course will include formal presentations by faculty and extensive follow-up dialogue and small-group discussion, covering topics such as:
· research subject eligibility and recruitment
· clinical trial statistics
· data management and quality control
· study endpoints
· late effects and quality of life
· clinical pharmacology, including polypharmacy and drug interactions
· regulatory compliance
· relationships with pharmaceutical companies and third-party payers
· opportunities for grants and clinical research training
· grant writing
· working with a mentor
· translational trials
· working with laboratory investigators
· research ethics
· subject safety
Some topics will be addressed in group discussion led by several members of the faculty.
Each participant will be expected to have a research project that can be developed in discussions with faculty and with peers.
Faculty
The faculty for the course will be senior clinical investigators, participating in the course for multiple days to work with and mentor the trainees.
The faculty members are expected to share their career stories and anecdotes. “We expect the course faculty to tell how they got where they are and the lessons learned along with way,” Dr. Keating said.
Free time for rest, recreation and creative thinking will be built into the schedule.
Eligibility and Application
The deadline for applications is March 1, 2007.
Applicants must be ASBMT members or sponsored by an ASBMT member. For purposes of this program, “junior faculty” is defined as three years or less teaching in the BMT field.
A 2-5 page letter of application is required, providing the applicant’s background, training, interest in blood and marrow transplantation and clinical research, career goals and an outline of a research project to be further developed during the course.
Details of the proposed research project should be a major portion of the application letter. The applicant must have a local mentor with whom to work in implementation of the research project after the course.
Applicant selection will be based on curriculum vitae, proposed project, local mentor and, all other things being equal, regional representation.
Send letter of application to:
ASBMT Transplant Clinical Research Training Course
85 West Algonquin Road, Suite 550
Arlington Heights, IL 60005
Applicant selections will be announced on or about March 15, 2007. The training course at the Keystone Conference Center will begin on Wednesday evening, July 18, and conclude at noon on Monday, July 23.