The Office of Training and Diversity (OTD) serves the Division of Intramural Research (DIR) trainees in Maryland and Montana at the Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML), including Postdoctoral, Visiting and Clinical Fellows; Medical Students; Postbaccalaureates; Graduate Students; and Summer Interns. Outreach and recruitment are also key endeavors, with the goal of recruiting outstanding, competitive candidates for DIR training positions. Wendy J. Fibison, Ph.D., is the Associate Director, and the office has a staff of four. OTD manages five annual programs: NIAID's Annual Fellows Workshop; Intramural NIAID Research Opportunities (INRO); the OTD Sponsorship Program; the Summer Internship Program in Biomedical Research; and the Grant Writing Seminar Series (5 seminars), which is offered three times a year. An exciting initiative continued for the sixth year, the Fellows Advisory Committee comprised of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. At monthly meetings, the members make recommendations regarding enhancing the learning environment in DIR, explore new programs to support the trainees' career development, and discuss issues related to the DIR experience. This committee plans the annual fellows retreat, determining the theme, format, and agenda; inviting speakers; hosting attendees at the retreat; and reviewing the program evaluations. The process is concluded with recommendations for the following year. The Ninth Annual Fellows Workshop was held on the Bethesda campus. The theme was NIAID Fellows Seizing Opportunities: A Blueprint for Success in the Next Era of Biomedical Science. Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, Director, NIAID, NIH, gave the keynote address. Dr. Gayle Slaughter and Dr. Julia Moore were speakers. There were two panel discussions: Next Era Careers in Infectious Disease Research and Building your Career Toolbox. Many of the panel members were NIAID Postdoc Alumnae who hold a variety of career positions within the metropolitan area. The NIAID Outstanding Mentor Award, developed in 2009 to recognize the many mentors at NIAID who are dedicated to sharing knowledge, inspiring, and instilling confidence in fellows, was awarded this year at a special event in January, National Mentoring Month. A committee of fellows, working with Dr. Wendy J. Fibison, followed a blind selection process to identify the winning nominee among a large pool of strong nominations. The 2015 award was bestowed on Dr. Stephen H. Leppla, Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, NIAID, NIH. Intramural NIAID Research Opportunities (INRO) is NIAID's centerpiece for outreach to populations underrepresented in biomedical research. Following a nationwide search, 22 talented students were selected from nearly 100 applications, to attend the annual 4-day program of scientific lectures, interviews with potential mentors and lab tours. The visiting students also interacted informally with researchers and current trainees. Five former trainees at a variety of career stages, returned to attend INRO and their input was valuable to the INRO visiting students, current trainees, and mentors alike. INRO 2015 was the thirteenth year of the program, and was notable for having the highest percentage of students who accepted training positions. By the end of the fiscal year, sixty-four percent of the INRO participants had returned to NIAID for training as a postdoc, postbac or summer intern. In previous years, fifty percent of the students returned. Since INRO was started in 2003, over 270 outstanding students have participated in the program. The Marketing Database, a resource developed by OTD, was revised and expanded. With nearly 12,000 entries, this is a valuable recruitment tool for DIR's training and scientific positions. It is used for the INRO program, as well as for promoting NIAID and NIH open positions, and to announce OTD's webinars and other special programs. The 2015 Summer Internship Program was fully subscribed, with students coming from around the country to work in DIR labs for 8 to 12 weeks. Eighty percent of the interns presented their research at the annual NIH Summer Intern Poster Day. Special OTD programs for summer interns included Orientation and Brown Bag Lunches with a peer-mentoring focus. For the fifthteenth consecutive year, under the leadership of Elizabeth Fischer and Anita Mora, RML scientists teamed with local Montana middle schools to present an Introduction to Research program for seventh and eighth grade students. The objectives are to broaden the student definition of a scientist by providing diverse role models with varying interests and skills; and to encourage interests in becoming scientifically literate citizens whether they choose a career in traditional sciences or in fields ranging from politics, to journalism, to business. Many RML scientists volunteered their time and shared their research experience with participating students. To date the BRASS program has involved 300+ volunteers and reached more 750 Montana students. Many past BRASS participants have gone on to pursue careers in science because of their experience in this program. New programs were developed and offered to the DIR postdocs. A grant-writing series, consisting of five seminars, was revised and offered three times during the year. A monthly Career Options seminar series was planned, featuring NIH alumnae who had recently transitioned to a variety of career positions. Multiple interview practice sessions were held for trainees preparing for medical or graduate school interviews, or job interviews. Practice interview sessions were structured to mimic the anticipated process, whether it be a 1-on-1, group or flash mentoring approach. A new initiative was developed providing NIAID postdoctoral fellows an opportunity to team teach a basic immunology course for undergraduate seniors and graduate students at the Catholic University of America. Two fellows were the lead lecturers and they organized the curriculum, examinations, and evaluation with the 9 other fellows. Biol 566: Immunology was offered in the Spring 2015 semester. Dr. Fibison was Chair of the NIH Training Directors Committee (TDC). This role included planning the monthly agendas of the TDC meetings and the annual one-day workshop. The theme throughout the year was diversity and inclusiveness. The annual workshop included Chris De Santis who spoke on Embracing Generational Diversity; Dr. Marc W. Kirschner who spoke on Change in the Biomedical Enterprise: Whether We Want It or Not; and James L. Knighton, who spoke on Science and Commerce - An Unholy Alliance?. As chair of the TDC Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusiveness, Dr. Fibison was lead author on Mentoring an NIH Trainee Who is Deaf or Hard of Hearing a product of the subcommittee's work. This is a printed booklet and is included in the NIH Sourcebook. Several ongoing OTD projects which support the Institute's diversity mission were continued this year: the Sponsorship Program; the Brown Bag Lunch Series; and the Tracking Project. Competitive trainees from populations underrepresented in biomedical research were again sponsored by OTD. This program was fully subscribed in 2015, with 42 trainees receiving stipends and health insurance. Fifteen former trainees hold positions within NIH and FDA. To foster a network of current and former trainees, a LinkedIn group was created by Dr. Wendy J. Fibison, adding a digital approach to providing former trainees information about NIAID opportunities and resources, and to enlist them as ambassadors for OTD programmatic outreach. NIAID is well positioned to meet its diversity goals in the near future by recruiting these young researchers back to the Institute as research positions become available.
