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Office of Education
- Brenda Hanning, Director, Office of Education
Goals and Objectives
The intramural Office of Education was established in September 2004 to support the training needs of intramural scientists, fellows, and students at all levels. This is achieved through recruitment and development of academic support programs; maintenance of accreditation; contributions to mentoring, evaluation, and career guidance; and creation of new training initiatives. Expanded areas of involvement include international exchanges for the training of graduate students, networking among fellows and alumni, grantsmanship, and the enhancement of fellows' competitiveness for awards, as well as support of new tenure-track investigators.
Summary
The Office of Education delivers workshops, programs, and individualized opportunities to a population averaging 300 trainees, including postdoctoral, visiting, and research fellows; clinical fellows and medical students; graduate students; and postbaccalaureate and technical fellows. Typically, activities include public speaking workshops, job interviewing, writing and editorial services, grantsmanship and study section observerships, career presentations and counseling, teaching opportunities through the NICHD "Becoming an Effective Scientist" course for postbaccalaureate fellows, teaching-skills workshops, and management programs. Each spring, a retreat for fellows and graduate students, which includes presentations by fellows and a poster presentation by each attendee, is held for about 80 people to address scientific developments and careers. The program is developed and run by a fellow/ student steering committee.
Notable accomplishments of the past year. In May 2011, the Division of Intramural Research gave its fourth Mentor of the Year awards to investigator Roger Woodgate and postdoctoral fellow Lauren Waters. Three exchange students from Peking University in Beijing completed their PhD research in our laboratories. FARE 2012 (Fellows Award for Research Excellence) awards went to 22 applicants. The NICHD Scholars Developing Talent program was established, and the first two participants were selected from the NIH Academy postbaccalaureate program: Carla Lopez and Chinedu Anyaeji. New program activities were, among others, related to the DIR's Assistant Clinical Investigator program and a Diversity Committee, oversight of the institute's summer program, involvement in the PI retreat and Graduate Student Research Forum in early June, as well as workshops on team science, management for scientists, and writing specific aims for grants. An intramural fellows committee was established, and The NICHD Connection, a monthly newsletter run and written by fellows, continues its focus on mentoring, career, and academic programs. In the Office of the Scientific Director, the Poster of the Month board displays research from each intramural program on a rotating basis.
For further information, email hanningb@mail.nih.gov or visit dir.nichd.nih.gov/dirweb/education.html.