Promising hematologists begin year-long program to pursue careers in clinica...( (WASHINGTON July 13 2009) Twenty he...),Health

(WASHINGTON, July 13, 2009) 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, Milwau
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