Next Generation Of Clinician-scientists Research Articles

The Next Generation: Mentoring and Diversity in the Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group.

The Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group (ARLG) Mentoring Program was established to develop and prepare the next generation of clinician-scientists for a career in antibacterial resistance research. The ARLG Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Working Group partners with the Mentoring Committee to help ensure diversity and excellence in the clinician-scientist workforce of the future. To advance the field of antibacterial research while fostering inclusion and diversity, the Mentoring Program has developed a number of fellowships, awards, and programs, which are described in detail in this article.

New directions in necrotizing enterocolitis with early-stage investigators.

The 2019 Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) Symposium expanded upon the NEC Society's goals of bringing stakeholders together to discuss cutting-edge science, potential therapeutics and preventative measures, as well as the patient-family perspectives of NEC. The Symposium facilitated discussions and shared knowledge with the overarching goal of creating "A World Without NEC." To accomplish this goal, new research to advance the state of the science is necessary. Over the last decade, several established investigators have significantly improved our understanding of the pathophysiology of NEC and they have paved the way for the next generation of clinician-scientists funded to perform NEC research. This article will serve to highlight the contributions of these young clinician-scientists that seek to elucidate how immune, microbial and nervous system dysregulation contributes to the pathophysiology of NEC.

Performance report for a 10-year-old MD/PhD Program: A survey of trainees at the University of Ottawa.

Integrated MD/PhD programs are relatively new in Canada and represent a platform to train the next generation of clinician-scientists. However, MD/PhD programs vary substantially by structure, funding and mentorship opportunities, and there exists a paucity of data on the overall students' successes and challenges. The purpose of this study is to assess objective and subjective metrics of the MD/PhD Program at the University of Ottawa. Students in all years of the program were invited to complete a 58- question survey, and the resulting data were analyzed by descriptive statistics. Our survey had an 88.5% (23/26) participation rate. The program has been gaining interest and the number of applications increased by 178% between 2013 and 2018. Tuition support was considered an essential element in accepting the admission offer, as 47.8% of students would have declined admission without full tuition coverage. The MD/PhD students were heavily engaged in scholarly activities, with an average of 8.3 presentations/ publications per respondent. Respondents indicated low satisfaction with formal career planning advice (28.6% satisfied/very satisfied) and program transition guidance (22.2%). When delivered informally by peers, both career planning advice and program transition guidance were experienced as more satisfying (65.2% and 63.6%, respectively). Only 34.8% of survey respondents identified as female, highlighting the challenge of achieving diversity in clinician-scientist training programs. Our report contributes to the body of knowledge on concrete obstacles experienced by students within MD/PhD programs and key areas that can be improved upon-locally, provincially and nationally-to further advance student success.

The Pediatric Heart Network Scholar Award programme: a unique mentored award embedded within a multicentre network.

The Pediatric Heart Network designed a career development award to train the next generation of clinician scientists in paediatric-cardiology-related research, a historically underfunded area. We sought to identify the strengths/weaknesses of the programme and describe the scholars' academic achievements and the network's return on investment. Survey questions designed to evaluate the programme were sent to applicants - 13 funded and 19 unfunded applicants - and 20 mentors and/or principal investigators. Response distributions were calculated. χ2 tests of association assessed differences in ratings of the application/selection processes among funded scholars, unfunded applicants, and mentors/principal investigators. Scholars reported post-funding academic achievements. Survey response rates were 88% for applicants and 100% for mentor/principal investigators. Clarity and fairness of the review were rated as "clear/fair" or "very clear/very fair" by 98% of respondents, but the responses varied among funded scholars, unfunded applicants, and mentors/principal investigators (clarity χ2=10.85, p=0.03; fairness χ2=16.97, p=0.002). Nearly half of the unfunded applicants rated feedback as "not useful" (47%). "Expanding their collaborative network" and "increasing publication potential" were the highest-rated benefits for scholars. Mentors/principal investigators found the programme "very" valuable for the scholars (100%) and the network (75%). The 13 scholars were first/senior authors for 97 abstracts and 109 manuscripts, served on 22 Pediatric Heart Network committees, and were awarded $9,673,660 in subsequent extramural funding for a return of ~$10 for every scholar dollar spent. Overall, patient satisfaction with the Scholar Award was high and scholars met many academic markers of success. Despite this, programme challenges were identified and improvement strategies were developed.

Ingrid Scheffer: improving patient outcomes in epilepsy

Ingrid Scheffer: improving patient outcomes in epilepsy

Training the next generation of Canadian Clinician-Scientists: charting a path to success.

Clinician-scientists are physicians with training in both clinical medicine and research that enables them to occupy a unique niche as specialists in basic and translational biomedical research. While there is widespread acknowledgement of the importance of clinician-scientists in today's landscape of evidence-based medical practice, training of clinician-scientists in Canada has been on the decline, with fewer opportunities to obtain funding. With the increasing length of training and lower financial compensation, fewer medical graduates are choosing to pursue such a career. MD-PhD programs, in which trainees receive both medical and research training, have the potential to be an important tool in training the next generation of clinician-scientists; however, MD-PhD trainees in Canada face barriers that include an increase in medical school tuition and a decrease in the amount of financial support. We examined the available data on MD-PhD training in Canada and identified a lack of oversight, a lack of funding and poor mentorship as barriers experienced by MD-PhD trainees. Specific recommendations are provided to begin the process of addressing these challenges, starting with the establishment of an overseeing national body that would track long-term outcome data for MD-PhD trainees. This national body could then function to implement best practices from individual programs across the country and to provide further mentorship and support for early-career physician-scientists. MD-PhD programs have the potential to address Canada's growing shortage of clinician-scientists, and strengthening MD-PhD programs will help to effect positive change.

Diversity, creativity, and flexibility will be needed from the next generation of medical scientists

There are interesting times ahead of us. Medical sciences are at the forefront of efforts to solve some of the biggest problems facing our society, including our ageing population, global poverty and health inequalities, and the impacts of climate change and antibiotic resistance. We live in an era in which advances in genetics and our increasing capacity in data and computing are rapidly changing the way we understand and treat disease. Yet political upheaval and its associated uncertainty, a so-called post-truth society, increasing competition for funding, and the potential closing of borders pose a real threat to our progress. If we are going to solve the problems facing us, more than ever we will need to attract and retain the brightest and best minds. Looking at the Abstracts from our Spring Meeting gathered here, the extremely high calibre of the next generation of clinician scientists is clear to see. Medical scientists of the future will need to be dynamic, creative, and forward thinking to deal with the complex challenges they face. More than ever they will need to participate in multidisplinary teams, engage in team science, and will need to develop leadership skills to anticipate change, navigate their career pathway, and influence those around them. To achieve all of this in an increasingly competitive landscape, there will be a temptation to work longer and longer hours to the exclusion of other interests. However, it is my own view, and that of the Academy of Medical Sciences, that this would be a short-sighted approach. Time outside of work has the potential to nourish creativity, build resilience, and give fresh perspective—precisely the skills that result in the best quality research. So this year we are celebrating the importance of finding the right blend of outside interests alongside a career path in medical science in a new project called MedSciLife. The project is being launched at our Spring Meeting and in this special issue of The Lancet. MedSciLife is an attempt to show the richness and diversity of working styles within our community and, perhaps most importantly, demonstrate that there is a life outside medical science. This is not an added extra—it is integral to who we are and the skills we must develop to be successful. The project is also an effort to show that medical scientists are not a homogeneous community, we are people from many different backgrounds living very different lives. Shining a spotlight on the person behind the labcoat or stethoscope, which is one of the key aims of MedSciLife, will help to promote better working practices and should help to inspire the medical scientists of the future. In this spirit, I wanted to share key components of my own MedSciLife. My family is the most prominent feature of my life outside work. I have five children, the youngest is 17 and will be heading off to university next year. My second eldest son has made me a grandfather twice, my grandsons are 2·5 years and 6 months old and live in Manchester. I don't get to see them as often as I would like, but we chat online. At school my best subjects were the arts; I chose science over arts simply because I wanted to study medicine, but humanities and arts remain an essential part of me, and my life is enriched when I am able to indulge in them. I am a closet artist, and love to sketch when I have time. Staying in one place for hours at a time while looking intently at something I want to capture is a form of therapy and is often when I find the solutions to challenges in my work life. Nourishing and enriching my life outside of science has been essential to my career. When my life risks becoming dominated by work I feel quite unhealthy. Stepping out of my scientific world becomes necessary, and for me travel can be a refuge. My wife is Italian and Umbria is a special place for us where we can unwind and take things at a different pace. When travel isn't possible, spending time with my family or appreciating fantastic art helps to restore my perspective and sense of humour—both of which are essential to weather the highs and lows of a career in medical science. I hope that MedSciLife will help those at all stages of their career to embrace the philosophy of celebrating different ways to blend life and work—giving us the chance to be the best we can now, and pave the way for an even better future. Professor Sir Robert Lechler PMedSci is President of the Academy of Medical Sciences and Vice-Principal (Health), King's College London, London, UK.

Training of clinician-scientists

Clinician-scientists are doctors who perform laboratory-based or clinically oriented research and have direct patient contact. Not only do they play a critical role in the research and practice of translational medicine, but also they are the educators of the next generation of clinician-scientists. However, clinician-scientists are vanishing. It is urgent to train new clinician-scientists who can be engaged in clinic work, research, and also education. Thus, in order to correct understand the importance of the work of clinical scientists, from multi angle analysis of clinical scientists training problems that may be encountered in the process, the active improvement of the education system and condition, and sustained and efficient guidance to the outstanding seedlings are advocated. Besides, aspiring candidates are also encouraged to seek ideal guidance and support through their career, arrange their work reasonably, strengthen their cooperation and the management ability, and strive to grow into excellent clinician-scientists. Key words: Clinician-scientists; Translational medicine; Training

Rising to the challenge: Training the next generation of clinician scientists for South Africa

Background . A shortage of clinician scientists globally, particularly in the developing world, including Africa and South Africa (SA), is well known and was recently highlighted in a consensus report by the Academy of Science of South Africa. There is a need to find innovative ways to develop and advance clinician scientists in SA. Objective . To provide opportunities for young clinicians to develop research skills through enrolling for a PhD. Method . To address this need in SA, we developed an innovative programme over 2 years in collaboration with the Carnegie Corporation of New York to support and train young specialist clinicians in research as the next generation of clinician scientists, through a full-time PhD programme. Results . Since initiation of the programme in March 2011, 16 such specialists have been enrolled at intervals in the Fellowship programme, 5 have qualified with PhDs, while a further 3 are expected to qualify shortly. Publications and presentations at congresses have been recorded as well as grant applications. Discussion . Although the programme is seen as an important initial step in addressing the shortage of clinician scientists, its dependence on donor funding and the lack of a secure career path for clinicians wishing to spend more of their career in research pose problems for the programme’s sustainability. It is hoped that the positive outcomes of this experience will initiate further programmes of this kind at academic institutions and attract the attention of funders and universities in order to sustain and enlarge this initiative.

The making of an embryologist, then and now!

The making of an embryologist, then and now!

Bongani Mayosi: targeting heart diseases of poverty in Africa

Bongani Mayosi: targeting heart diseases of poverty in Africa

The American Society of Hematology: a success at age 50

The American Society of Hematology (ASH) turns 50 years old in 2008, and we have much to celebrate. Over those years the Society established its principles: to promote both the art and science of hematology and to hold a high-quality Educational Meeting. ASH membership has grown from a few hundred curious attendees at a planning meeting in 1957 to more than 15,000 members today, and the annual meeting has grown from a scientific session of 5 papers at the planning meeting to more than 500 oral presentations and nearly 2,500 poster presentations at the 2007 meeting. The modern ASH promotes cutting-edge science, sponsors research by scholars from all over the globe, helps train the next generation of clinician-scientists, lobbies Congress and several other governmental agencies on behalf of its clinician and scientist members, and publishes the foremost scholarly journal in the field of hematology, Blood, designed to provide its readership with timely reviews, expert opinion on clinical hematology, practice-changing clinical trials, and insightful basic science. The next 50 years of ASH are likely to see many profound changes, but one thing is almost certain-our dedication to fostering clinical and scientific excellence in hematology will continue as the Society's raison d'etre.

Clinical Science Training at the University of Colorado

BackgroundClinical science (CLSC) research education differs from basic science education in that many CLSC programs have an added goal of creating successful academicians. CLSC programs have expanded curricula that include...