TH E FELLOWSHIP

OFFICE

2002 ANNUAL REPOR T

N ATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute

It is with pleasure and renewed purpose that the Fellowship Office presents its 2002

Annual Report. The mission of the Fellowship Office is to serve as a focal point for NCI

Fellows and to work, in partnership with existing NCI and NIH components, to ensure

that NCI continues to attract and retain the best Postdoctoral Fellows. We do this by

increasing the visibility of research training as integral to NCI’s overall mission,

supporting our Fellows’ scientific achievements through improved communication and

collaboration, assisting sponsors to prepare Fellows for independence through career

development activities and guidance in mentoring, and providing referrals where

necessary to resolve work and life issues. As we have evolved with our partners during

the past year, we have developed a more seasoned mutual relationship. This report is

organized according to the five operational components of our mission as of Calendar

Year 2002: Outreach, Inreach, Training and Education, Answers, and Transitions.

T H E F ELLOWSHIP O FFICE
2

The Fellowship Office was established in March 2000 in response to a 1997

recommendation from the Intramural Advisory Board (IAB) and the Intramural Division

Directors (IDD) to enhance recruitment of Postdoctoral Fellows and to respond to other

issues that affect them in the course of their training. Since then, direct recruiting for

individual positions is largely accomplished through other offices of NCI, allowing the

Fellowship Office to serve in the more global, complementary roles of academic

outreach, networking, and orientation. We, the staff, place emphasis on enhancing the

fellowship experience for our Postdoctoral Fellows through programs responsive to

their concerns. 

We represent a diverse group of backgrounds and skills, reflecting our wide-ranging

responsibilities. In brief, Special Assistant Viola Black, who inaugurated the Fellowship

Office, has primary responsibility for administrative relations within and without NCI and

has significant experience in conflict resolution. Administrative Program Assistant Lee
3

McPhatter provides program support to all

Fellowship Office activities and is lead staff

member for communications. Our Director, Dr.

Donna Vogel, a medical endocrinologist with a

Ph.D. in developmental biology, has over 20

years’ experience at NIH in both intramural and

extramural research and program management.

She has a special interest in training, career

development, and programs for underrepresented

groups in research.

As difficult as it may seem to offer personal

attention to nearly 1,000 Fellows, we believe

there is no substitute for human contact, and we

work to make all of our constituents aware that

our “open door” is a reality, not just a logo.
4

Why do Fellows choose NCI? Often they learn

about our research opportunities from scientific

literature, conferences, or their own clinical or

graduate advisors. NCI reaches out to recruit

Fellows as well — investigators, labs and branches,

the Center for Cancer Research, the Division of

Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, the Office of

Diversity and Employment Programs, and the NIH

Office of Education are partners with us in this

effort. We regularly send mailings to recipients of

NIH predoctoral fellowships interested in cancer

research, and we send brochures and posters 

to directors of training programs and career

development programs funded by NCI. Continuing

the theme of personal contact, we visit with groups

of interested potential Fellows at universities and

medical centers. At career events and meetings of

professional societies, we also promote NCI’s

fellowship opportunities, with a special emphasis

on working with trainee, minority, and women’s

groups within larger organizations. One of our

most important messages is that NIH staff are

accessible and are willing and able to help earlystage scientists and clinicians as they look ahead 

to independent careers.

OUTREACH
5

Our Web site is an important tool for visibility and access to information for Fellow

candidates. From 2001 to 2002, the average Web hits per day increased from 2,421

to 4,714. New visitors per month increased from around 1,000 in 2001 to 1,200 in

2002. As a result of seeing our site or announcements, we received hundreds of

inquiries by email or telephone, and 14 interested candidates visited the Fellowship

Office in person.

In 2001, in response to a request from the Foundation for NIH, an independent

charitable organization that works in support of NIH research, we developed the new

Sallie Rosen Kaplan Fellowship for women scientists in cancer research. The award is

supported by a bequest to the Foundation. Time considerations led us to make the

2002 award as an extension year to one of our existing Fellows, Dr. Carolyn Best.

From 2003 on, we will award the Kaplan Fellowships through a nationwide

competition to recruit new Postdoctoral Cancer Research Training Award Fellows. 

The Kaplan award was publicized in journal advertisements, through professional

societies, direct mailings to cancer training directors, and through our Web site.
One of the most important components of our

work is having a physical presence at NCI. While

our door is open, we know that Fellows are busy,

so we do not necessarily expect them to find 

time to see us in Building 31. Instead, we come 

to them — on the main Bethesda campus, in

Frederick, at the Bethesda Naval Hospital, in

Rockville, and in Gaithersburg. Usually we will

invite Fellows to a bagel brunch or a pizza lunch.

Sometimes the meeting is specifically to welcome

and orient new Fellows, particularly for the clinical

programs that welcome new groups each July. At

other times, we invite all the Fellows in a lab or

branch, or a group within a building, to come see

us. After a brief introduction to our Office and our

work, we learn about the attendees, listen to their

concerns and suggestions, and encourage them 

to contact us personally if they would like a

confidential conversation. Whenever possible, 

we implement the ideas they express. Examples

INREACH

6
include the Quick-Start orientation guides, the Career Development Calendar, and

several workshop suggestions. The number of laboratories and branches we visited

increased from 17 in 2001 to 28 in 2002, and included Frederick, Bethesda Navy, 

Key West, the ATC building, and all buildings on the Bethesda campus with NCI labs. 

We put our philosophy into action by offering Fellows visibility and experience through

opportunities to speak at workshops and to serve as nominators or reviewers for the

Outstanding Mentor Awards. Fellowship Office staff are liaison members of the CCR

Fellows and Young Investigators Association, a trainee assembly that plans scientific

and social events and serves as a sounding board for many of our initiatives. 

During 2002, the Fellowship Office participated in six major NCI research events

with oral or poster presentations, and in the NIH Research Festival and NIH Hispanic

Scientist Day. We use print media, email, listservers, and our Web site to announce

activities, events, and news. 

Additions to our Web site in 2002 included links to the NIH special interest groups,

the Fellows’ Editorial Board, clinical training programs, and the National Library of

Medicine Bioinformatics Consultation Service. 

7
Many organizations at NIH offer seminars, courses,

and workshops in addition to numerous scientific

lectures and symposia. There are, however, topics

of interest to Fellows that are not covered, or are

given too infrequently or in locations inconvenient

to them. We aim to fill the gaps by presenting

material that has been previously overlooked or by

making it more easily available. The Fellows’ own

suggestions form the basis for many of these

workshops and seminars.

In April 2002, we co-sponsored a half-day

symposium, “Moving From the Bench Into

Business: Entrepreneurship in Science.” We

worked closely with the lead organizers from

NCI’s Office of Technology and Industrial

Relations in crafting the program and choosing

speakers. The event was highly successful,

attracting well over 400 registrants. 

Fellows were given the opportunity to obtain

training in negotiating skills and mentoring at 

no or reduced cost through our co-sponsorship 

of courses given by the NIH Training and

Development Branch. In addition, we held

some workshops of our own on childcare and

tax issues for Fellows. 

The Career Development Calendar, mentioned

under Inreach, was created in response to

repeated questions from Fellows as to whether a

single site, similar to the NIH Calendar of Events

for scientific presentations, listed all the NIH

career-related seminars, workshops, and courses.

8

TRAINING & EDUCATION
Finding none, we implemented a weekly listing of activities on our “What’s

Happening?” page. Ranging from the “Survival Skills” series to community adult

education classes in English for Speakers of Other Languages, activity listings came

from a number of sources inside and outside NIH.

Through recognition and guidance, we continued to promote quality mentoring. 

A major activity was the first in a series of seminars, “But I Don’t Have Time for This:

Integrating Research and Mentorship at NCI.” The program featured a keynote

address by Dr. Michael Gottesman, NIH Deputy Director for Intramural Research,

followed by interactive panel discussions. Participants heard from investigators,

current and former Fellows, and other members of the NIH and NCI leadership,

including the NIH Ombudsman, Dr. Howard Gadlin. 

We also continued the Outstanding Mentor Award program, begun in 2001.

Once again, many fellows and other recipients of noteworthy mentoring

nominated NCI investigators for this honor. A committee of Fellows reviewed the

nominations, and we presented three Awards and ten Mentor of Merit certificates.

NCI is proud to see our Outstanding Mentors recognized inside and outside NIH.

A NSWERS

As we are a focal point for questions from and about Fellows, we welcome their

questions as well as those from prospective Fellows or other interested parties. One 

of our most important messages is that we are available via phone, email, and in

person, and confidential inquiries remain so. We will do our best to give prompt and

thorough answers, getting input from other sources when necessary. In addition, our

Web site provides information on many topics, including links to numerous partners 

at NCI and NIH.

From January 2001 through December 2002, we logged 717 queries. At the end of

calendar year 2002, we were answering over 40 inquiries per month, compared to

19 per month one year earlier. Roughly one-half were from within NCI, one-third

from prospective Fellows, and the remainder divided among Fellows and employees 

in other Institutes and Centers, extramural scientists, and individuals outside NIH. 

9
10

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

2002 2001

TFO Q UERIES 2002 AND 2001

TFO Q UERIES , C ALENDAR 2002, BY SOURCE

259 TOTAL NCI

190 TOTAL CANDIDATES

17 OTHER OUTSIDE

39 EXTRAMURAL

15 NIH STAFF

11 NIH FELLOWS
A postdoctoral fellowship should be a fluid

experience, a transition rather than a static event.

Our role is to help position that experience in the

career trajectory of our developing scientists. 

TRANSITIONING IN: Last year, our first tangible

product was a “Quick-Start” guide for new Fellows,

with a few essential phone numbers and Web sites

they would need when beginning at NCI. This year

we created and distributed a special version with

information for NCI–Frederick. Through access to

better data, we contacted 124 new incoming

Fellows and provided them with orientation

packets. We continued to conduct individual 

and group orientation and welcoming sessions.

NCI Fellows have needs that are not entirely 

met by the NIH Fellows Handbook, which

concentrates on the Bethesda campus. In order to

reach beyond Bethesda while offering more NCIspecific information to new and incoming Fellows,

we began writing a new Fellowship Handbook.

This is a joint project with the CCR–FYI, along

with input from DCEG, NCI–Frederick, and NCI’s

Office of Health Promotion/Office of Education

and Special Initiatives.

11

TRANSITIONS
12

TRANSITIONING ON: We are available for group or individual discussions on life

after NCI and on topics such as job seeking, careers in science, and grants. In 2002,

we had 23 individual career-related discussions, compared to 14 in 2001. We work

closely with partners such as the Work/Life Center, with referrals in both directions

depending on the interests and needs of the individual. 

This coming year we aim to grow our alumni network. We have conducted confidential

“exit learning” sessions with Fellows as they conclude their training. These are not formal

exit interviews, but rather opportunities for us to get their feedback about the fellowship

experience and enlist their help in the future. We look to our alumni to help NCI reach

new prospective Fellows, to assist Fellows looking for employment, and to participate as

speakers in future workshops and seminars.

THE FELLOWSHIP OFFICE

31 Center Drive, Suite 4A48 | Bethesda, Maryland 20892-2473 | 301 496 4796 | www.nci.nih.gov/fellowships

September 2003