Training & Fellowship Initiatives
While the education programs of Nemours Biomedical Research have been historically directed toward residents and post-doctoral fellows, expansion of our academic alliances through Thomas Jefferson University, the University of Delaware, and other programs have expanded our student base. Currently there are 28 students working and studying in the research department. A number of the undergraduates in this cohort are participants in our long-standing summer student research program, providing training in basic and clinical research.
The Nemours Graduate Education and Research Program is part of the Human Health Initiative involving the University of Delaware Department of Biological Sciences, the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, and Nemours Biomedical Research. Under this exciting Program, students admitted for study in the Department of Biological Sciences have the opportunity to perform thesis/dissertation research in laboratories of research scientists at the A. I. duPont Hospital for Children. This will be of particular interest to students seeking to perform translational research linking basic science hypotheses to clinical problems. Graduate students who enter the Nemours Graduate Education and Research Program will choose to affiliate with one of the graduate research tracks in the Biological Sciences Graduate Program. This choice will determine the students graduate curriculum and foster interactions among fellow graduate students and faculty with common research interests at both locations.
Beginning in 2000, we undertook development of the Nemours Symposia on Pediatric Medical Research to enhance the continuing medical education of research and clinical professionals. This series has reached a milestone in the past year, exceeding prior years attendance and achieving high marks for quality through course evaluations. The symposia are operated as a joint venture of the clinical departments, Medical Education, and Nemours Biomedical Research. One of the underlying goals of this growing series is to bring senior and influential people to Nemours to teach the clinical and research faculty about their work while permitting us the opportunity to showcase ours.
A plan is also under development to devise and implement a series of formal training modules, in a variety of teaching modalities suited to the adult learner, to comprise a continuum of research-based educational opportunities for faculty in various stages of their careers. Meetings have been held with key constituencies to discuss needs in this area. Once developed and implemented, Nemours Biomedical Research will provide the ongoing leadership and operational support for a series of workshops, seminars and symposia that will support faculty from finding a mentor through functioning as a preceptor. Further, such a program will not only enhance outreach to the resident community, but will provide the added benefit of increasing faculty retention and satisfaction through recognition of their talents and contributions for education.
