NIAID SoCal research workshop focuses on drawing researchers into the biomedical workforce

CTSI and Charles R. Drew University's Urban Health Institute (UHI) co-sponsored the Regional National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Workshop held virtually on May 18-20, 2020. Every other year, NIAID selects a new region to host a free workshop dedicated to sharing the latest news on the NIH grant process and funding opportunities that would be of particular interest to pre- and post-doctoral fellows, clinician-scientists, as well as early-stage and mid-career research investigator.

This year, NIAID selected the southern California region and focused on the theme of "Enhancing the Participation of Research Investigators in the Biomedical Workforce."

The three-day workshop focused on information about the NIAID and other Institute’s scientific agendas, successful tips for writing career awards, an introduction to the small business arena, the NIH peer review process, mentoring, career opportunities, advice on how to write a successful grant application, and advice for transitioning to positions in academia.

Notable speakers included a welcome address by LeShawndra Price, director of the office of research training and special programs for NIAID, Dr. David Carlisle, president and CEO of CDU, and Dr. Mitchell Wong, vice chair of medicine for research training at UCLA and co-leader of the CTSI Workforce Development Program. Dr. Matthew Fenton, director of the division for extramural activities at NIAID, kicked off the presentations with an insightful overview of NIAID and factors that contribute to successful funding.

During the mentoring panel discussion on May 20, Drs. Moshen Bazargan and Sharon Cobb of CDU and Drs. Carol Mangione and Tannaz Moin of UCLA, provided insightful highlights of their respective mentor-mentee experiences and addressed questions from the audience. 

In addition to NIAID, research funding information was provided from several NIH institutes including: National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI).

While hosted by southern California institutes, the virtual workshop was open to a national audience and garnered 200 participants including researchers from the Mayo Clinic, Stanford, the UC system, San Diego State University and Cedars-Sinai plus those from institutes in Vancouver BC, Washington and Hawaii.

Visit the 2021 workshop website to see the booklet and agenda with a complete list of the presenters and panelists. Presentations are also available on the website. 

NIAID organizers will be planning for the next workshop to be held in the central states in 2023. 

CTSI and UHI extend a special thanks to our contributing speakers and the NIAID organizers, led by Diane Adger-Johnson, health science program officer of the division of extramural activities, for an invaluable event.

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Image source: NIH/NIAID