About NLM Training Program in Biomedical Informatics
The Gulf Coast Consortia / Keck Center's Training Program in Biomedical Informatics is a non-traditional program that encompasses students from six institutions and more than twenty departments. As a consequence, our cohort of students and the training faculty are derived from multiple departmental programs with diverse goals and requirements. Our goal is to provide cross-training at the interface between the computational/mathematical sciences and biological sciences/biomedicine. This training enables students to learn deeply in their primary discipline and to become conversant with another discipline. By speaking two “languages,” our trainees are able to enter fields and undertake studies that would otherwise not be possible. Unlike some training programs, we are able to enjoy the benefit of having a broad community of scholars from which we draw our trainees. A consequence of this is that we do not have a simple cohort of applicants, a common mechanism for recruitment, single set of degree requirements, a defined program of study, nor similar exposure to the fundamentals in a particular area. Instead, the NLM Program steering team works with each trainee to develop a customized curriculum and meets annually with the trainee and their mentors to evaluate progress.
Training Program Recruitment, Selection, and Assessment Processes
The link above and what follows provides more information on key aspects of the NLM training program.
Recruitment
Applicants for the predoctoral training programs must be accepted or applying to an existing departmental or inter-departmental degree-granting program at one of the six supporting GCC / Keck Center institutions. Pre-doctoral students are expected to enroll either in a natural sciences program and take additional computer-oriented / informatics coursework, or in a computer, computational science, or informatics program and take additional courses in biological science.
Postdoctoral trainees more usually contact a specific individual whose research areas are of great interest to them. Alternatively, some candidates come through the Keck Center Web site and are referred to faculty who may have positions available or interest in specific areas.
Trainee Selection
Selection of candidates for this training program is rigorous and based on merit and a convincing interest in the program goals. Available slots will not be filled unless quality candidates are available. Each student and his/her mentor(s) must meet with the Training Directors from each of the participating institutions to have both their research plan and course plan reviewed. The applicant’s project must have clear relevance to the goals of the NLM training program, and the potential trainee must agree to accept the program requirements. Those potential candidates that are qualified for the program will be encouraged to submit an application using the on-line application form.
For postdoctoral trainees, the research proposal is especially important and is prepared in consultation with the faculty mentor. Postdoctoral applicants must identify at least one additional NLM training program faculty member, in a complementary area, to serve as a co-mentor for the research project. This selection is often done with the assistance of the Keck Center Institutional Training Director, as this individual has a broader view of the faculty expertise across all six GCC institutions and can facilitate contact with appropriate faculty who have an interest in the research area. The co-mentor is someone who will complement the primary mentor in terms of expertise and background. For example, if the advisor has special expertise in biology, the co-mentor would be selected on the basis of computational or informatics expertise and vice versa.
Applicants are reviewed by the NLM Steering Team members, using the on-line system, which provides for an “electronic” dossier of each candidate, including letters of recommendation, transcripts and research project description. Because this program is increasingly competitive, applications are reviewed in two stages. Applicants passing the first stage, the dossier review, are invited for an interview with the NLM Steering Team. Based on the interview and the information in the applicant’s dossier, the Steering Team members evaluate the candidate using the following review criteria: educational background, research interest, previous productivity, publishing capability, written presentation skills, oral presentation skills, academic capability, mentor recommendations, faculty recommendations, mentoring plan, and motivation. Each applicant is given a score, using a scale similar to the NIH scale. After all interviews are completed, applicants are ranked, and a recommendation is prepared for the Keck Executive Committee’s approval. Only the top students are offered a fellowship; if no candidate meets the threshold, no appointments will be made even if slots are available.
Advising
All predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees are required to submit a written report annually. The trainees, along with their mentors, meet with the Steering Team on an annual basis during the spring or fall, depending on their appointment date, to review progress on research projects and on coursework required by the program. Students are expected to demonstrate scientific growth. Renewal for the subsequent year depends on this evaluation, both in terms of the coursework and the research progress. This annual progress review is sometimes more rigorous than the reviews that are required by each student’s home department. We may require additional reports or impose conditions on further funding to encourage students to reach their full potential. As students near the end of their study, these meetings are also an opportunity for the Steering Team to provide career guidance and offer input to decisions about the next step for the trainee. The Steering Team also often has helpful advice or can direct the student to previously unknown resources. Students are encouraged during these sessions to disseminate their work through presentations and publications.
These reviews are also opportunities to assess the performance of the Keck Center in meeting the needs of the students. Feedback from students about Keck programs is actively solicited during the review process. This information is essential to generating structures and activities that meet the needs of the students and their mentors and in achieving the training goals of the Center and the specific program.
Other venues for performance assessment are the Annual Research Conference and Structural Biology Symposium, for which all trainees are required to prepare a poster presentation. These posters are judged by groups of Keck faculty, and small prizes funded from a private foundation are given for the most outstanding presentations. These posters also serve as effective catalysts for discussion amongst trainees and Keck faculty, in particular judges for the posters. Questionnaires are distributed at the end of the Annual Research Conference and Structural Biology Symposium for feedback, and we have continued to evolve the format of the conferences based on this input.
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