Office for Scientific Operations

National Institute Of Arthritis And Musculoskeletal And Skin Diseases

Investigators

Abstract

The NIAMS Office of Scientific Operations (OSO), formerly known as the Career Development and Outreach Branch (CDOB), was updated in 2021 due to the expansion of services provided. These services feature: career training, diversity, outreach and recruitment, communication via the NIAMS IRP website, and operations. Throughout 2023, the OSO has continued to strengthen our support and service offerings to NIAMS IRP. Career Training The trainee populations served by the OSO include postbaccalaureate fellows, pre-doctoral fellows, medical students, postdoctoral fellows, research fellows, visiting fellows, clinical fellows, special volunteers, and summer research fellows. The OSO organized and supported many programs under career training, diversity, outreach, and recruitment this year. This office has provided a robust increase in offerings encompassing career development training, career exploration, science communication, mentoring, ethics/responsible conduct of research, professional development, grant writing, preparation for graduate and medical school, and special outreach events. Notably this year, the OSO created new content for scientific presentation preparation, supported a trainee-led media group called I AM NIAMS for the first time, and launched an inaugural, competitive annual award for senior fellows to receive a one-time research supplement. The addition of our new staff has increased trainee participation and led to an increase in data collection for evaluative analysis, program modeling, and trainee career tracking. Additionally, weve continued to integrate the Independent Development Plan (IDP) and established an initial postbaccalaureate fellow IDP. The IDP is a critical tool for all trainees that provides an individualized program curriculum for each trainee to include the identification of mentors, training skills assessment, yearly plan overview, and an independent evaluation by mentor(s) and the OSO, respectively. To further supplement training, we collaborate with various training offices trans-NIH, and the NIH Office of Intramural Training and Education (OITE). The OSO collaborates with other institutes to provide seminars, resources and information on programs that are beneficial to our trainees such as the Oxford Cambridge Scholars Program, the NIH Graduate Partnership Program, the NIH Independent Research Scholars Program, the Medical Research Scholars Program, and the NIH Distinguished Scholars Program. Also new this year was the establishment of a NIAMS clinical rotation whereby postbaccalaureate fellows interested in gaining clinical shadowing experience work in the Community Health Clinic with rheumatology fellows and nurses for 12 weeks. The OSO staff integrally supports the annual NIAMS IRP retreat as a platform for our fellows to practice their scientific communication skills. Several OSO staff are part of the planning committee and assist in multiple capacities including registration management, abstract booklet design and production, poster printing, and logistical support for the multi-day event. Diversity, Outreach and Recruitment The OSO has been focusing actively on diversity, outreach, and recruitment. We have continued developing our mentoring and pipeline programs for training with scholar programs at Morgan State University, Howard University, University of Maryland at Baltimore County (Meyerhoff Scholars Program), and Montgomery College. To increase visibility and focus on diversity initiatives and outreach, we have continued the Intramural NIAMS Training Research Opportunities (InVTRO) program. InVTRO has allowed accessibility to competitive research programs with partnering universities and serves as the focal point for our remote trainees and the summer research program. InVTRO is a virtual turned hybrid/in-person program providing an interactive platform featuring online streaming of basic and CORE laboratories, IRP campus and facility tours, interactive live video conferencing/interviews with current trainees and faculty, participation in laboratory meetings, participation in grand rounds including mock patient visits, multiple weekly journal clubs, interactive courses in bioinformatics, courses in responsible conduct in research, and Q&A sessions regarding the NIAMS IRP research portfolio, as well as other components. The OSO has been active with local and national universities via virtual visits to recruit competitive candidates and continues to actively participate in various scientific meetings (Annual Biomedical Conference for Minority Students, Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science, and American Indian Science and Engineering Society, others) for recruitment purposes. We have continued a leadership presence through representation on the NIAMS Racial Ethnic and Equality Plan (REEP) working group and the NIAMS Culture Committee, both with a shared rationale to dismantle systemic racism in the biomedical sciences. The OSO continues to collaborate with the NIH Office of Scientific Workforce Diversity, the NIH UNITE Initiative, and the NIH Training Directors Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Communication In addition to routine efforts to maintain the improvements completed last year, new enhancements to the IRP website include adding a new section highlighting the significant scientific advances of our research. The OSO contributed to broader efforts in NIAMS, overhauling the main website navigation. These led to essential improvements in usability and accessibility and better content findability. We redesigned the entire website for the NIAMS Rheumatology Fellows Training Program and centralized it into our core web management platform. It is now fully integrated into our central web property and, therefore, much simpler to maintain and promote. We also focused on the NIAMS IRP Community Health Clinic in Bethesda and the Hope Center clinic based in Washington, D.C. The OSO team developed distinct landing pages for each clinic under a parent portal. These will provide important content in English and Spanish to new and returning patients. We have also implemented a scientific advances section on the IRP website to disseminate our basic, translational, and clinical research publications for the general public. Another substantial project, which is still ongoing, is to re-evaluate how we store, manage, and present clinical trials on the website. We initiated this effort and continue to manage ongoing work in partnership with colleagues in the extramural program and Scientific Communications and Outreach Branch. Specifically for our fellows, we have created weekly and monthly communications to further strengthen our trainee community and highlight the career training programming from our office and our NIH partnerships. We also transmit regular, curated research updates to relevant departments within the institute. Operations The NIH OSO continues to work closely with NIAMS leadership and the NIH Division of Health and Safety (DOHS) to execute policies and procedures on the safe return of staffers to the NIH physical workspace. With pandemic restrictions easing, guidance and policies are adjusted accordingly, which has required continuous communication with NIH DOHS, IRP staff, faculty, and trainees. Assessments for space, renovations, and personal protective equipment were managed by the OSO for the animal facilities, laboratories, and common areas. The OSO serves as an advisor to the NIAMS Scientific and Clinical Directors on special projects. We are the primary contact for large equipment maintenance, logistics, and planning of all space (facilities, laboratory, office, common area) renovation projects. In the 2023 fiscal year, a Freezer Working Group committee was established for a complete audit of all freezers.