The Extramural Associates (EA) Program’s Biennial Update Conference was originally scheduled for September 17-18, 2001. However, the tragic events of September 11^th forced the postponement of that event. Instead, the Update Conference was rescheduled and held February 25-26, 2002. The Biennial Update Conference has been held almost as long as the EA Program has existed and is the only mechanism which brings together most of the former EA participants for productive dialogue. In addition, EA board members, staff members from NIH, selected chancellors or presidents from EARDA recipient institutions and representatives from other Federal agencies attend and participate in the conference. The February 2002 Conference was held at the Pooks Hill Marriott in Bethesda, and the conference theme was “All for One and One for All.”

The Update Conference is designed expressly for alumni of the EA residency and EARDA grant programs for purposes of: 1) updating all participants on new or innovative federal program initiatives relating to women and minority institutions, 2) updating participants on new NIH policies, procedures and technology related to sponsored research activity, 3) encouraging networking and partnershipping between participating institutions and research intensive institutions and/or Federal agencies, and 4) providing an opportunity to convey EA Program success stories to NIH and other Federal officials.

Highlights of the 2002 conference included an informative keynote luncheon address by Dr. Duane Alexander, Director, NICHD and an address to the participants by Dr. Yvonne Maddox, Deputy Director, NICHD and Acting Deputy Director, NIH which focused on current EA Program support, future outlook and a expectations of EAs returning to their respective institutions following residency training and receipt of the EARDA grant. Other features of the two-day agenda included remarks from Dr. Vivian Pinn, Director, Office of Research on Women’s Health, a forum of college presidents describing the outcome of having a trained EA with EARDA grant support on their campus, workshops on topics of current issues relevant to the EA Program, an awards ceremony and a panel of Federal Representatives summarizing programs of interest to EA eligible institutions.

A record 85 EAs and former EAs attended the conference and according to their evaluation, the conference received an excellent rating, particularly regarding its content. An article which focused on the conference, but generally outlined the history of the EA Program was published in the April issue of the NIH Record. The next EA Update Conference is scheduled for fall 2003.

Current EA Program Class
The current EA Class began their NIH residency training June 3, 2002 and will complete their training August 9, 2002. The summer 10-week session is designed for EA eligible institutions that award no degree in the biomedical or behavioral sciences higher than the baccalaureate and includes selected Community Colleges. The current class includes Dr. Joseph Orban from Southern University at Shreveport in Shreveport, LA., Dr. Frank Yeh from Rust College in Holly Springs, MI., and Dr. Alice Thomas from Sojourner-Douglas College in Baltimore, MD.

EA Experience
Since community colleges originally did not participate in the EA Program, particularly following the awarding of the EARDA grant, a number of options were considered that would result in an experience that would e most advantageous to the community colleges. Dr. Maria Alvarez, a member of the 1998 summer class and an EARDA recipient, proposed in her Phase II EARDA grant proposal to bring three or four faculty members from her institution, El Paso Community College, to Bethesda for two weeks. The thesis is that the two-week exposure and familiarization of these faculty with some NIH intramural research labs, plus sitting in on didactic activities scheduled for the regular EA class would highly beneficial when compared with what would be happening if they were back on campus.