Applications for the 2025 course are now open! Applications close on March 14 at 5:00 PM CT. 

About the Course 

The ASTCT Clinical Research Training Course (CRTC) is a program for fellows and junior faculty that covers the principles of clinical research and how to translate findings from the laboratory to the clinic. Each year, the CRTC provides an opportunity for 12 scholars to work 1:1 with the course faculty and statisticians through formal presentations and extensive follow-up dialogue and small-group discussion.

Over the course of four days, scholars will hear formal presentations by faculty and participate in facilitated group discussions. Each scholars’ protocol development will be reviewed by peers and faculty alike, with the common goal of moving protocols from concept to reality through collaboration. Throughout the course, our expert faculty will share their experiences, career stories and personal anecdotes.

We see our scholars as the future of our field and the ASTCT community, and we want to make sure you have the tools you need to succeed in an academic career in transplantation and cellular therapy. Learn more about the impact the CRTC has had on past scholars careers.

Who Should Apply

Applicants must be a MD/DO and an ASTCT member who is currently either in their second year of fellowship or junior faculty. The course defines junior faculty as an individual who has two years or less of experience in the blood and marrow transplantation and/or cellular therapy field. Your completed fellowship date must be on or after June 30, 2023.

If you are not a member, learn more about our free in-training membership.

Objectives and Curriculum

The course was designed by the ASTCT Board of Directors in 2006 due to the concerns that clinical fellowships did not adequately cover the principles of clinical research and how to translate findings from the laboratory to the clinic. CRTC will help fellows and junior faculty close the gap by addressing these concerns through formal presentations, extensive follow-up dialogue and small-group discussion. Topics discussed in the course include clinical trial design, research subject eligibility and recruitment, biostatistics, and how to have a successful academic career in BMT and Cellular Therapy.

Each participant will be expected to have a clinical research project that can be developed in discussions with faculty and with peers and faculty during the course, with the ultimate goal of opening the clinical trial at their institution.

Eligibility and Application

Applicants must be a MD and an ASTCT member who is currently either in their second year of fellowship or junior faculty. The course defines junior faculty as an individual who has two years or less of experience in the blood and marrow transplantation and/or cellular therapy field. Your completed fellowship date must be on or after June 30, 2023.

If you are not a member, learn more about our free in-training membership.

The applicant must identify a local mentor with whom to work in implementation of the research project after the course. The proposal should reflect what the applicant is planning to work on and not what they think the faculty would like.  

  • Include the contact details of both the applicant and their mentor.
  • Ensure that a letter of recommendation is provided by the mentor. Please note that mentors must be members of ASTCT
  • Curriculum Vitae: Please submit a curriculum vitae. A biosketch will not be accepted.
  • A 2 to 5 page letter of application which includes the following information:
    1. The applicant’s background, training, interest in blood and marrow transplantation and clinical research and career goals
    2. An outline of a research project to be further developed during the course. Details of the proposed research project should be a major portion of the application letter and should at a minimum include the following headings:
      • Protocol Title
      • Background
      • Hypothesis and Aims
      • Study Design, Innovation, Impact
      • Potential problems/challenges, Summary

Applications should be submitted in Arial, font size 11 with 1 inch margins. References should be included in the 2 to 5 page count. A separate page of references will not be accepted. 

Applicant selection will be based on curriculum vitae, proposed project, local mentor and all other things being equal, regional representation. Please note, that since scholars will be accepted based in a large part on the merit of the submitted project, it is not possible to change the overall project concept after submission or after acceptance onto this course.

Applications close on Friday, March 14 at 11:59 p.m. CT

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