The ITN Scholars Program was designed to help create a pool of highly trained academic researchers with broad clinical trials experience in the emerging field of immune tolerance therapies.
Mohamed H. Sayegh, M.D., Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Chair of the ITN Scholars search committee, says that effectively planning clinical trials of emerging immune-based therapies requires a rare combination of skills that are difficult to acquire in one academic institution.
"One needs to have a thorough understanding of both the medical aspects of immunological conditions, and the scientific and biological bases of the immune system. On top of that, one needs intimate knowledge of the logistics of planning and implementing clinical trials – something best learned by hands on experience," says Sayegh.
Successful applicants will therefore have the opportunity to develop an intimate knowledge of the scientific, medical and regulatory aspects of clinical trial design and implementation through close mentorship with ITN Clinical Directors. Working primarily from the San Francisco offices of the ITN Clinical Trials Group under the supervision of ITN Clinical Directors, the fellow will also interact closely with regulatory personnel at the National Institutes of Health and with biostatistical and laboratory personnel at the ITN's Tolerance Assay Group in Bethesda Maryland.
Upon completion of the program, the fellow will have acquired the knowledge and skills necessary to develop and prepare documentation for clinical trial protocols, navigate various regulatory requirements of clinical trials, plan and manage single and multicenter trial implementation and monitoring in the fields of transplantation, autoimmunity or asthma/allergy.
The ITN Scholars Program is open to those holding an MD or equivalent degree and a faculty appointment at instructor level or higher. Having already completed their residency and specialty fellowship training, preferred candidates will have a serious, demonstrated interest in pursuing a career in clinical investigation and have a demonstrated interest in clinical immunology in the field of transplantation, autoimmunity or asthma/allergy.
Applications must be received by the ITN by March 31, 2005. Additional details and application procedures are available at www.immunetolerance.org/fellowship.
About the Immune Tolerance Network
The Immune Tolerance Network is an international research collaboration that aims to accelerate the clinical development of tolerance therapies through novel clinical trials and parallel mechanistic studies. The ITN is currently planning, developing and operating 20 clinical trials in autoimmune diseases, islet, kidney and liver transplantation and allergy and asthma and operates a dozen core facilities that support these studies with state-of-the-art bioassay services. Headquartered at the University of California, San Francisco and with offices in Bethesda, Maryland and Pittsburgh, PA, the ITN is supported by the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. More information on the ITN and its research can be found at www.immunetolerance.org.