Training the next generation of clinical and translational researchers is part of the NIH Clinical Center mission, and the CC and its Office of Clinical Research Training and Medical Education (OCRTME) did as much when they welcomed more than 260 fellows to the seventh annual Clinical Investigator Student Trainee (CIST) Forum, which took place on November 4-6, 2009 at the Clinical Center – National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

Networking was a major theme of the two-day forum, which also featured a panel on loan repayment and research funding opportunities, and career advice from clinician-scientists who recently completed their residency and sub-specialty training, as well as a keynote speech from dean of the Duke University School of Medicine, Dr. Nancy Andrews. New this year, organizers used the technology of micro-blogging site Twitter to connect with the audience and encourage conversation.

Invited were medical, dental, and veterinary students participating in year-long research programs: Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)-NIH research scholars and HHMI medical fellows, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF) clinical research fellows, National Center for Research Resources/Clinical and Translational Science Award-sponsored students in year-long research programs, NIH Clinical Research Training Program (CRTP) fellows, Sarnoff Cardiovascular Research Foundation fellows, fellows in the applied epidemiology fellowship at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fogarty International clinical research scholars, and the NIH MD/PhD Partnership Training Program fellows.