Our premier training program, the DCRI Fellowship Program, has equipped over 300 trainees with the clinical research and didactic skills needed to lead the clinical trials of tomorrow. The program attracts trainees from around the globe, ensuring that DCRI's vision is sustainable not only here in Durham, but is also a seed that cultivates mission-based research throughout the world.
DCRI Founding Director Robert Califf, MD, who served as director from 1996 to 2006, reflects on the importance of training, and how the institute focused on this in its earliest days. Read the transcript.
Sana Al-Khatib, MD, MHS, director of the DCRI Fellowship Program, and Matthew Roe, MD, MHS, who directed the program for a decade prior to leaving the DCRI, speak about what leading the program has meant to them. Read the transcript.
Each year, the DCRI Fellowship Program welcomes a new group of trainees, providing them with both a solid foundation in basic clinical research approaches and fertile ground for testing new ideas. Each fellow works with a faculty mentor on research objectives, and fellows have the opportunity to learn by doing through conducting studies, analyzing data, presenting groundbreaking results, and more.
Preparation for a Successful Career
The impact of the DCRI Fellowship Program extends beyond the two to three years trainees spend at the institute. In the below video, Robert Mentz, MD; Christopher O'Connor, MD; Julius Wilder, MD, PhD; and Rachel Greenberg, MD, discuss how their training led them to successful careers.
The Revolving Door of Mentorship
Many current DCRI faculty began their careers at the institute as trainees, and some of them give back by mentoring others. In the below video, former fellows Manesh Patel, MD; Jonathan Piccini, MD; Neha Pagidipati, MD, MPH; and P. Brian Smith, MD, MPH, MHS, reflect on why they continue to serve as mentors.
The Transition From Fellow to Faculty
Several young DCRI faculty who have graduated from DCRI fellowships within the last several years speak about their experience in the program and their decisions to remain at the DCRI. In the below video, hear from Marat Fudim, MD, MHS; Trevor Lentz, PT, PhD, MHA; and Daniel Edmonston, MD.
Continued Collaborations Across the Globe
One of the key features of the DCRI Fellowship Program is that it recruits trainees from around the globe. The program has welcomed 64 international trainees representing 22 different countries. In this audio recording, hear former DCRI Co-Chief Fellow Adam Nelson, MBBS, from Australia, chat with Kristen Norlin, director of DCRI Academic Affairs, about his experience in the program.
Another benefit of the DCRI Fellowship Program is that it builds both friendships and collaborative working relationships that last for years, well beyond when trainees graduate and move to other institutions. In this audio recording, hear from DCRI faculty member (who was also once a DCRI fellow) Renato Lopes, MD, PhD, speak with former DCRI fellow and current University of Pennsylvania faculty Alexander Fanaroff, MD about the pair's continued collaborations.