“Integration of Clinical Trial Development in Hematology-Oncology Fellowship Training” describes the Clinical Trial Development Program initiated at Washington University School of Medicine in 2002. This program was developed as a hands-on learning experience for Hematology-Oncology fellow in the design, implementation and publication of clinical trials and is led by Dr. Lee Ratner, Associate Program Director for Basic Science and Career Development.
Lead author, Dr. Christine Auberle, MD, is currently a second year Hematology-Oncology Fellow and one of the program’s co-chief fellows. The manuscript is published in Academic Medicine and includes an analysis of 118 fellows who participated in the program through July 2023. All fellows begin developing their project by choosing a mentor with coordination by the program leadership during their first 2 months of fellowship. Fellows draft a letter of intent (LOI) which serves as the basis for clinical trial development and submission.
The program now includes a ‘clinical trials bootcamp’ which is a series of didactic lectures on clinical trial development, initiation, implementation and scientific writing. Fellows present their projects annually, either with poster or oral presentation, to the Hematology and Oncology faculty.
79% of fellows obtained Institutional Review Board approval for their trials and 65% published their trial results. Among graduating fellows, 66% secured an academic faculty appointment. The manuscript “Integration of Clinical Trial Development in Hematology-Oncology Fellowship Training” is available online at Academic Medicine.
Congratulations Dr. Auberle!