NHGRI/DIR Education and Outreach Programs

National Human Genome Research Institute

Investigators

Abstract

In FY 2021, the NHGRI Intramural Training Office organized a comprehensive program of career development activities for trainees at various education levels including Postdoctoral IRTA Fellows, Visiting Fellows, Predoctoral Students, Postbaccalaureate IRTA and summer interns. New this year, through a collaboration with the NHGRI Director of Clinical and Laboratory Residencies and Fellowships, ITO tailored a subset of program activities for the participation of NHGRI Clinical Fellows. Also new in FY 2021, the role of Authorized Organizational Representative/Signing Official for the submission of all trainee grants was transferred from the NHGRI Technology Transfer Office (TTO) to ITO. Grantsmanship ITO centralizes a highly successful grant writing and grant submissions program in the intramural program. ITO actively identifies and communicates funding opportunities, grant writing procedures and deadlines to NHGRI trainees. The office develops, updates, and disseminates grant-writing documentation and provides individualized orientations and guidance for Postdoctoral and Clinical Fellow applicants to Pathway to Independence/Career Transition K Awards, and PRAT and Lasker Awards. In FY 2021, ITO co-sponsored an annual, 6-week, intensive grant-writing workshop with the training offices at NIDCR, NICHD, and NIAMS. This course is designed for Postdoctoral and Clinical Fellows who intend to pursue careers in biomedical research. Participants focus specifically on the K grant series and complete a grant application ready for submission. In FY 2021, six NHGRI trainees participated in this workshop. From October 2020 - August in 2021 six trainees submitted applications for K99/R00 grants, three for the PRAT Award and one for the LASKER Award. From 2006 to present, the cumulative success rate for NHGRI K99/R00 grant submissions is 45% and 25% for the PRAT Award. The submission to the Lasker Award, the first by an NHGRI Clinical Fellow, was awarded. Faculty Application Preparedness The Intramural Training Office offered a two-part faculty preparedness series for postdocs seeking Independent Investigator positions. The first part of the series was held as panel of NHGRI faculty and alumni serving on search committees at colleges and universities. This panel focused on the tenure-track application process with special emphasis on changes to the hiring process brought upon by the COVID 19 pandemic. The second offering in the series was a workshop hosted by an NHGRI alumna who currently serves as the Director of Junior Faculty and Career Development at a medical college. This workshop focused on early faculty transitions to academia and was modified to include pertinent information for Clinical Fellows interested in faculty positions. Annual Career Development Networking Event Trainee retreat In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ITO organized and hosted the annual trainee retreat as a 1-day, virtual event. As in previous years, the retreat was hosted in partnership with the National Center on the Advancement of Translational Science (NCATS) and brought together approximately 200 participants including trainees and professionals from both ICs, and invited speakers. The agenda provided opportunities for professional networking and included the Three-minute Talk science presentations by trainees and a keynote address on non-traditional careers in science. Also included were focused group discussions on wellness, career transitions in times of uncertainty, the importance of diversity in science and career transitions to industry and faculty positions. Science Communication ITO offered the Three-minute Talk (TmT) Science Communication Series virtually in 2021, with a record number of sixteen registered for the program. In this series, participants learned how to effectively convey the relevance of their research to a broad audience of scientists in three minutes or less, through a workshop and individual public speaking sessions. This year, trainees were also taught how to effectively communicate virtually, a timely and practical skill for virtual presentations and interviews. The program culminated with a TmT presentation at the annual Trainee Retreat and two finalists advanced to the NIH-wide competition. Diversifying the Genomics Workforce The NHGRI Intramural Training Office and Education and Community Involvement Branch collaborate on a number of initiatives to lower barriers for STEM students - including those from underrepresented groups in science - at multiple points of the educational spectrum (from K-12 youth to postdoctoral fellows). The following is a summary of initiatives co-led by ITO and ECIB in FY 2021. At the 2020 Society for Advancement for Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) annual Conference ITO bilingual staff used cultural and linguistic expertise to engage with Latino undergraduate and graduate students to discuss their training and career goals. In the Spring 2021 Virtual Field Trip to the NIH event, NHGRI trainees prepared presentations on animal genomes in a virtual classroom setting for high school students. As part of the NHGRI extramural Diversity Action Plan Summer Seminar Series, ITO staff delivered a presentation on training programs in NHGRI DIR, followed by individualized career consultations for interested extramural trainees. ITO conducted two virtual workshops on the NIH Summer Internship Program at Dine College, a public tribal college. This was followed by individualized application support for 14 Navajo American Indian community college students, resulting in two student placements in the NIH Summer Internship Program. Community Outreach Recognizing the rich Ethiopian community local to the area of the NIH main campus in Maryland, NHGRI leads outreach initiatives tailored to Ethiopian residents with an emphasis in the areas of language access, STEM education, and health. In 2020, pilot a partnership between ITO, the NHGRI Education and Community Involvement Branch (ECIB) and the at-large Ethiopian community was initiated. The goal of this partnership is to provide Ethiopian colleagues training/working at the NIH with opportunities to develop a professional portfolio in the areas of education, outreach, programming, and leadership while directly serving the needs of their community. In FY 2021, NHGRI trainees reached out to Ethiopian students attending Wheaton High School and the Ethiopian-Eritrean Students Association at the George Washington University School of Public Health. Ethiopian trainees and NIH staff also collaborated for the translation to Amharic of the NHGRI infographic Your Genome & You (https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/teaching-tools/Your-Genome-You-infographic), an engagement resource designed to introduce the basics of genetics and genomics to lay communities. Collaborations with the NIH Office of Intramural Training and Education In FY 2021 the Director of NHGRI ITO collaborated with the NIH Office of Training and Education to serve as a group discussion facilitator for trainees participating in the 6-month series Becoming a Resilient Scientist and as an instructor of the mandatory, 6-hour course on Responsible Conduct of Research for Postbacs. The ITO Director also became the IC liaison to OITE for the restructured NIH Academy, to help organize seminars and discussion sessions focused on health disparities in genomics. In conjunction with the OITE, ITO provided administrative and onboarding support for 21 NHGRI summer students in the 2021 Virtual Summer Internship Program. In addition, ITO staff helped to develop a 5-week long Clinical Trials bootcamp and implement trainee-recruiting strategies, reviewed applications and developed a curriculum for 25 students in the high school summer program, HiSTEP.