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 six 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 (4 seminars), which is offered twice a year, and the OTD Exchange Program. The Fellows Advisory Committee comprised of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, was convened again this year, the seventh year. 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 workshop, 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 Tenth Annual Fellows Workshop was held April 11, 2016 at the NIAID Conference Center, Rockville, MD. The theme was Building Bridges: Navigating Collaborative Avenues for Career Success. The workshop featured more than 10 speakers, including a keynote address by NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., and a talk by Dr. Keith Micoli, director of postdoctoral programs at New York University School of Medicine. There were two panel discussions: Career Options and Research Management to expand the fellows' understanding of a variety of science career paths. 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 the Tenth Annual Fellows Workshop in April. 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 2016 award was bestowed on Dr. Ronald N. Germain, Laboratory of Systems Biology, and Dr. Kanta Subbarao, Laboratory of Infectious 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 over 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. Six 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 2016 was the fourteenth year of the program. By the end of the fiscal year, eight of the INRO participants had returned to NIAID for training as a postdoc or postbac trainee. Several trainees are in negotiations to return in the coming fiscal year. In previous years, at least fifty percent of the students returned. Since INRO was started in 2003, 293 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 2016 Summer Internship Program was fully subscribed, with students coming from around the country to work in DIR labs for 8 to 12 weeks. Sixty-five 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 sixteenth 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 nearly 800 Montana students. Many past BRASS participants have gone on to pursue careers in science because of their experience in this program. Existing programs were updated and revised and offered to the DIR postdocs in Maryland and Montana. A grant-writing series, consisting of multiple seminars, was offered twice during the year. A monthly Career Options seminar series was held, 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. For the second year,NIAID postdoctoral fellows had an opportunity to team teach a basic immunology course for undergraduate seniors and graduate students at the Catholic University of America. Three fellows organized the curriculum, examinations, and evaluation. Biol 566: Immunology was offered in the Fall 2016 semester. An exciting new initiative was created and conducted, the OTD Exchange Program, to encourage Maryland and Montana trainees to exchange places for a week to establish new collaborations and enhance scientific understanding. The OTD Exchange Program supports activities which include setting up laboratory visits and meetings to learn a new assay or scientific approach; finding out more about the Research Technologies Branch; setting up informational interviews; and attending activities to enhance professional and career development. Three RML postdoctoral fellows were selected to spend five days in Maryland, which included attending the Tenth Annual Fellows Workshop. 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 2016, with 45 trainees receiving stipends and health insurance. Eleven 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.
