An Ode to the ASH Clinical Research Training Institute (CRTI) on Its 20th Anniversary

Twenty years ago, the leadership of ASH had a vision to create a training program focused on supporting and developing the discipline of clinical research within the field of hematology. Spirited by the visionary forces of Drs. James George and Beverly Mitchell, the ASH Clinical Research Training Institute (CRTI) was born and has thrived during its 20-year history. CRTI has become one of the most beloved and successful ASH-sponsored training efforts and has produced more than 400 alumni in the ensuing 20 years, many of whom have gone on to become leaders in the world of clinical hematology research and even the senior leadership of ASH!

In addition to the 400 alumni from North America, the CRTI community now also includes international trainees. Among our devoted faculty — comprising statisticians, clinicians, librarians, NIH and NCI program leaders, and ASH staff — many consider CRTI to be among the most meaningful and impactful of their academic career experiences, including recent CRTI co-directors Drs. Jeffrey Lebensburger, Alex Herrera, and myself.

Dr. James George happily remembers the initial discussions led by ASH President Beverly Mitchell, MD, in 2001, which were focused on the desire to develop a unique training institute to foster careers in clinical research in all areas of hematology. Dr. George was asked to develop this institute by the leader of the task force, Dr. Ron Hoffman, and to become the first director of the fledgling trainee program. Together with Dr. Mitchell — whom Dr. George had coaxed into co-chairing the program to provide a balance of expertise in classical and malignant hematologic research — Dr. George and his colleagues at the University of Oklahoma, Drs. Sara Vesely and Gary Raskob, developed the initial curriculum for the seven-day, in-person workshop.

Since the inaugural workshop, the overarching principles of CRTI remain unchanged: to combine didactic lectures on methodology and research design, with a focus on trainee research proposals. These proposals would form the principal element of the competitive application process, and these research studies would be discussed, re-worked, and revised in small mentoring sessions involving clinical faculty, statisticians, and fellow trainees. Presentations of the initial and revised research proposals would bookend the meeting’s start and finish, and the week would allow for discussions focused on career development, ample time for faculty–trainee interactions, and the opportunity to learn of the multiple opportunities for academic development and service within ASH. These faculty–trainee interactions can be quite impactful for the participants. Dr. Alison R. Walker credits meeting Dr. John Byrd during the CRTI workshop with jump-starting her research career, as this led to her first faculty position with the Ohio State University. The first CRTI included 20 trainees selected via a competitive peer review process, convening in Dana Point, California, in August 2003 and was, by all measures, a tremendous success, continuing to exhibit exceptional growth and showcase the breadth and diversity of applicants and research proposals.

The proud tradition of CRTI continues today, having expanded its reach to international sites. In the intervening years, led by the efforts of Drs. Lillian Sung, Allison King, and Sara Vesely, and with the support and contributions of ASH staff (Charlie Clayton, chief professional development & diversity officer, emeritus; Nathalie van Havre, chief professional development & diversity officer; Robby Reynolds, senior director, hematology workforce & career development; Josel Fritz, deputy director, career development & service; and Piper Harmon, manager, career development & programs) the program continues to grow. Our CRTI for Latin American trainees is now well established, having expanded to include yearly workshops for beginning and advanced trainees, and developmental efforts to engage trainees in Asia and the Mediterranean region are ongoing. Flexibility in curriculum design and execution of the North American workshop was mandated during the COVID-19 pandemic, when CRTI-subcommittee members worked together to pivot to a completely online program for the trainees spanning a year of monthly to bi-monthly meetings. This program combined interactive workshops, including the intensive small group workshops, with some newly formatted semi-didactic lectures to allow more online interchange and “flipped classroom” methods. Although there had been concern that the online-only format would affect the trainee experience of CRTI, when this class did meet in person it was clear that those intangible aspects of the program that make it a success year after year were still there.

Staying true to its mission, CRTI has emerged from the pandemic, revitalized as a more innovative and even more cohesive community of learners and colleagues. Many of the “COVID pivots” in curriculum design were adopted for the return of the workshop in the summer of 2023 to the beautiful cliffs of La Jolla, California, with an enlarged group of 28 trainees. Daily, pre-dawn group walks down to the misty beach to glance at surfers and dolphins jumping in the waves have returned and perhaps justify (partly) the abundant, delicious meals that punctuate the workshop!

The vision of the ASH leadership in 2001 has been realized. Dr. Lebensburger, course director in 2023, sums it up so well: “ASH CRTI was directly responsible for my early career success, and returning as a director will be one of the greatest honors of my academic career.” The ASH CRTI mission to develop committed, creative, and engaged clinical researchers with a united goal of improving the quality of the lives of patients with hematologic illnesses worldwide remains paramount, and we are most grateful to be part of this lovely community.