Table of Contents

• Office of Intramural Training and Education (OITE)
• Graduate Partnerships Program (GPP)
• Graduate Student Council (GSC)
• The NIH Fellows Committee (FELCOM)
• The Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences(FAES)
• Fellows Award for Research Excellence (FARE)
• Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series (WALS)
• Scientific Interest Groups (SIGS)
• Fellows Editorial Board
• NIH Calendar of Events

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Office of Intramural Training and Education (OITE)
http://www.training.nih.gov
Building 2, 2nd Floor

The Office of Intramural Training and Education (OITE), in the Office of the Director, is home to more than 6000 trainees at NIH, including clinical fellows, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, postbaccalaureate fellows, summer interns, and many others. Along with the NIH Institutes and Centers, the OITE works to recruit a diverse group of trainees to NIH campuses and strives to create a training environment that fosters innovative and productive research, and enables you to develop advanced communication and collaboration skills early on in your scientific career.

The OITE sponsors numerous workshops and career development activities throughout the year. These programs are open to all trainees, but many require a reservation and some fill up quickly. Programs are advertised on the OITE webpage and on a variety of trainee e-mail lists (including GRAD-L).

OITE maintains an open-door policy. Staff members are available to answer questions, advise you of training opportunities, discuss mentoring, and help you to resolve any difficulties. You will also find a growing resource library containing books on a variety of topics relevant to scientific career and professional development.

Graduate Partnerships Program
http://gpp.nih.gov
Building 2, Room 2E06

In addition to providing administrative assistance to graduate students at NIH, the GPP works closely with the OITE and with the Graduate Student Council to plan programs of special interest for graduate students. These programs include short workshops and longer mini-courses offered specifically for NIH graduate students. All of these activities are advertised on the GPP webpage and via GRAD-L, our graduate student listserv.

In addition to these offerings throughout the year, the GPP and GSC sponsor a number of important activities for graduate students, including:

• Graduate student retreat: brings the graduate student community together in a casual setting to discuss science and science careers. The retreat also welcomes the incoming graduate students into the NIH graduate student community; this annual event takes place in early September.
• Graduate Student Research Symposium: An annual event that highlights the important scientific contributions of NIH graduate students. Over 100 students typically present posters and eight senior graduate students are invited to give short talks. The Graduate Student Research Symposium is attended by other trainees, many graduate students and NIH scientists and is an excellent opportunity to enhance your public speaking skills.
• Pathways Conversations: Monthly seminars focusing on career opportunities in science. For each Pathways program, students take the lead to invite a variety of individuals who followed different career paths to share their experiences in an informal setting.
• Graduate Student Seminar Series (GS3): Monthly seminars by two graduate students discussing their dissertation research. It is an excellent opportunity for graduate students to practice talks for conference presentations, lab meetings, thesis presentations, progress reports, etc.

The Graduate Student Council (GSC)
http://gpp.nih.gov/GraduateStudents/GraduateStudentCouncil/
Building 10, Room 6S235A

The GSC - run by graduate students, for graduate students - works closely with the GPP to develop and sustain a vibrant graduate student community at NIH. The GSC represents the voice of the students to the NIH administration and is an outstanding way for new students to learn about graduate student life at NIH.

The GSC is organized into committees to focus on different goals or events of the council. These committees give monthly updates on their progress and future plans at the GSC meetings and receive feedback from the whole council. If you are an NIH graduate student interested in becoming involved in the GSC or in one of the committees listed below you can find more information on the GSC website. The GSC is always looking for new volunteers to serve on the following committees:

• Academic
• Career Development
• Community Service
• Housing 
• International Students 
• Public Relations
• Research Symposium
• Retreat
• Social

The NIH Fellows Committee (FELCOM)
http://felcom.nih.gov/ 

Felcom works to enhance the training experience of all postdoctoral fellows at NIH. Felcom seeks to foster communication among fellows and the NIH community by offering career development and networking opportunities, job fairs, teaching opportunities, and sponsoring various workshops and events. Although organized by postdoctoral fellows, Felcom programs are often open to anyone at NIH and you are likely to find many programs of interest to you. To sustain communication between Felcom and GPP, a member of the Graduate Student Council serves as a liaison to Felcom.

Graduate students are encouraged to join the Fellow-L listserv to receive announcements about upcoming programs; to do this go to the Felcom website.

The Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences (FAES) http://www.faes.org/
Bldg. 60, Suite 230

FAES is a private, non-profit organization that works with NIH to enhance the overall academic environment of NIH. FAES organizes and supports a large number of undergraduate and graduate level courses for NIH employees and trainees. The majority of the school's faculty is made up of NIH staff, making their specialized knowledge available to a wider audience.

There are presently over 180 classes offered through FAES, each certified by the Maryland Higher Education Commission. Some may be accepted for credit by your PhD program, although prior arrangements must be made to ensure transfer. The majority of the classes are in the biomedical field. However, there is strong representation in the physical and behavioral sciences, and in English and foreign language studies.

A modest tuition is charged for FAES courses, which generally will be covered by your NIH research advisor. It is very important to get approval from him or her in advance of registering for courses. If you are taking an FAES course to meet a requirement of your PhD, it is essential that you get approval of your university advisor or committee in advance that it will meet university requirements.

Fellows Award for Research Excellence (FARE)
http://felcom.nih.gov/FARE/

An option for securing travel funds is to apply for the Fellows Award for Research Excellence (FARE).  GPP students are eligible for and encouraged to apply for a FARE.  The annual FARE competition provides recognition for the outstanding scientific research performed by intramural fellows.  The award is sponsored by the NIH Fellows Committee, the Scientific Directors, the Office of Research on Women's Health, and the NIH Office of Intramural Training and Education (OITE), and is funded by the Scientific Directors and the Office of Research on Women's Health.  Fellows submit an abstract of their research, which is peer reviewed in a blind study section competition.

• Winners of FARE awards receive $1000 toward attendance at a scientific meeting in the US at which they will present their abstract, either as a poster or a talk. 
• FARE winners will also be asked to present their work at the FARE award ceremony.
• For more information about FARE and the application process please go to the website.

MD/PhD Training on the NIH campus
Through the support of the NIH directors and the GPP, NIH now has a program for students to pursue MD/PhD training with the Ph.D training taking place through one of the GPP institutional or individual partnerships. The program encompasses activities outside the lab such as longitudinal clinical preceptorships, meetings with leaders in academic medicine, and individualized career counseling by experienced physician-scientists on the MD/PhD advisory committee.

Funding is available for students admitted to MD/PhD programs of medical schools participating in the national Medical Scientist Training Program.  For students already in Ph.D. training, this program offers the opportunity for exceptionally qualified students to apply for combined-degree training with the medical school component taking place after the PhD. training (Track 3). This training track is for students who have a strong desire and rationale for pursuing combined MD/PhD training, which would include career plans to spend at least 50% time in basic or translational research and a commitment to continue research during the medical school years.  More about the NIH-MSTP partnership can be found at: NIH-MSTP. 

A videocast of a presentation on the MSTP partnership program and MD/PhD training in general can be viewed at: https://webmeeting.nih.gov/p63758124/ . 

Applicants for this pathway will be internally reviewed each spring for eligibility for partnership funding for medical school training. The deadline for receipt of these applications will be in Mid-May to early June.   For more information regarding this training pathway please feel free to contact Bridget Lampert, Managing Director, at 301.435.5317 (lampertb@niaid.nih.gov) or Dr. Richard Siegel, Program Director, at 301.496.3761 (SiegelR@mail.nih.gov).

Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series (WALS)
http://www1.od.nih.gov/wals/

The NIH Director's Wednesday Afternoon Lectures Series (WALS) includes weekly scientific talks by some of the top researchers in the biomedical sciences. All lectures are held in Jack Masur Auditorium in Building 10 on the Bethesda campus. WALS Lectures may also be accessed from personal computers via NIH videocasting on the Internet (http://videocast.nih.gov) or videotapes of a lecture may be obtained from the NIH Library.

All graduate students are encouraged to attend WALS lectures and students are often invited to attend lunch meetings with the seminar speaker. These informal lunch meetings are scheduled from 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. on the day of the lecture and give a group of ten trainees the opportunity to meet with the speaker and discuss scientific research topics. Information regarding WALS lunches is sent by e-mail; lunches are open to all trainees on a first-come first-served basis.

Demystifying Medicine
http://www1.od.nih.gov/oir/DemystifyingMed/

An excellent weekly lecture series given annually designed to identify and explain major problems in medicine to Ph.D. researchers or trainees. All lectures are videocast and archived for viewing offsite or at other times (http://videocast.nih.gov). Graduate credit for this course may be obtained from FAES.

Scientific Interest Groups
http://www.nih.gov/sigs/sigs.html

Collaborations among investigators in different NIH ICs are frequent and encouraged. To facilitate scientific interactions across the entire NIH campus, the OD sponsors and supports a number of NIH Inter-Institute Special Interest Groups (SIGs). These groups are divided into seven broad, science-oriented parent groups, or faculties, and more than 90 smaller, more focused groups centered on particular research models, subjects, or techniques. The latter groups are initiated and run by scientists in the Intramural Research Programs at NIH.

The interest groups sponsor symposia, poster sessions, and lectures; offer mentoring and career guidance for junior scientists; help researchers share the latest techniques and information; act as informal advisors to the Deputy Director of Intramural Research (DDIR); provide advice for the annual NIH Research Festival; and serve as hosts for the Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series. Many of the scientific interest groups have members from neighboring academic and government institutions, providing you with an excellent way to meet scientists at other local research institutions. 

Fellows Editorial Board
http://ccr.cancer.gov/careers/feb

FEB is a free, confidential editing service available to fellows from the entire NIH community.  FEB has edited more than 300 scientific documents, including manuscripts, grant proposals, and abstracts.

All fellows (post-doctoral, pre-doctoral, and post-baccalaureate) from all NIH institutes may join the editorial board - this is an excellent way to gain valuable editing experience and to improve your own writing!  Please note that FEB weekly meetings are held Mondays from 12:00 – 1:30PM by videoconference from Bethesda, Twinbrook, Frederick, and Research Triangle Park (NC).

For submission instructions and information on joining the editorial board, please visit the FEB website. 

NIH Calendar of Events
http://calendar.nih.gov/app/MCalWelcome.aspx

The “Yellow Sheet” is a weekly publication of events on the NIH campus. All NIH employees should receive a hard copy in their mail. You can also visit the website to review or publish an event.