In fiscal year 2017 (FY17) OFT administered several ongoing educational events and programs for the IRP and established new training opportunities. The OFT processed personnel cases for approximately 359 fellows including 41 Visiting Fellows and 44 Special Volunteers. The OFT provided training to all NIMH IRP administrative staff on the processing of trainee personnel cases. The OFT provided 6 faculty with Predoc IRTA slots with travel and tuition, and 6 diversity and inclusion slots for Postbac and Student IRTAs. The OFT reviewed and approved faculty requests for annual stipend increases for Postdoc IRTAs and Visiting Fellows (VFs). The OFT participated in an NIMH IRP Town Hall Meeting in January 2017 to announce NIMH IRP Responsible Conduct of Research training guidelines and to describe new OFT initiatives including the Scientific Communication Portfolio of Workshops and Seminars. Tasked with educating all new NIMH IRP staff, the OFT provided monthly orientations which covered information relevant to the NIH and NIMH organization, function and mission. The OFT also provided fellows with reference materials on ethical conduct of research and mentorship. Upon request, the OFT provided orientations for new Administrative Officers and Technicians on the administration of trainee personnel cases. The OFT web content, revised in FY14, was updated throughout FY17 to include all orientation materials and a wide array of useful resources for required trainings, career and professional development, and OFT sponsored events and awards. The OFT web content received an average of 2,319 unique page views each month in FY17. The OFT meets with trainees to provide career and professional development guidance and to solicit their feedback and input during and upon completion of their training. The OFT established a Steering Committee in FY16 composed of IRP Faculty and Trainees. In FY17 the OFT invited new faculty and staff participants to serve for the 2017/18 term. In FY 2017 the OFT sponsored and organized the 19th Annual IRP NIMH Scientific Training Day to be held in Leesburg, Virginia at the National Conference Center with the NIMH Fellows Committee. There are 236 registrations from faculty, administrators, scientific staff, and trainees to date with less than a month to the registration deadline. The Training Day is September 11, 2017. In conjunction with the Fellows Committee the OFT organized and sponsored the monthly Fellows Afternoon Neuroscience Seminar Series (FANS). FANS is a forum for Trainees to share their science, practice their presentation skills and network with their NIMH colleagues, faculty and staff. OFT organized and sponsored the IRP Grantsmanship Workshop in conjunction with Grant Writers Seminars and Workshops, LLC in FY17. Training was provided in three phases, gradually transitioning from didactic introductory material (Phase I) to an intensive grant-writing experience in the form of an individualized tutorial (Phase III). Phase I provided training in Grantsmanship to 66 trainees from NIMH, NINDS and other institutes. Seven fellows participated in Phase II, and 3 trainees participated in Phase III. This year, NIMH Trainees submitted grant proposals for K99, PRAT and private funding including NARSAD. The OFT offered seminars on the National Science Foundation (NSF) and DARPA Award mechanisms; a workshop providing guidance for the preparation of a GRFP NSF application; a panel discussion from NIMH Program Officers focused on the Strategic Initiative and scientific mission of the extramural program; and a seminar on career award mechanisms (K-Awards). To satisfy the NIH mandate to provide all NIH IRP scientific staff with training in Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR), the OFT held Ethics for Lunch discussions on Collaborative Science and Authorship from August through November, 2016. Four hundred ten NIMH IRP Scientific staff satisfied their research ethics training requirement. The OFT held a required RCR training session in July 2017 for Summer Interns. The OFT was involved with the drafting and delivery of RCR training for Postbac and Predoc IRTAs across NIH in the Fall of 2016 and drafted a curriculum for satisfying the new RCR training requirements for all NIMH IRP trainees which was posted in August 2017. In FY17, the IRTA Tax Seminar was offered in February and September. This seminar provided our NIMH IRTAs guidance in drafting and submitting both their annual and estimated taxes. These seminars cover the unique tax requirement specific to the NIH IRTA. Approximately 120 trainees attended the Tax Seminars from NIMH, NINDS, and NIDCD. In FY17 the OFT organized a series of Scientific Communication Seminars and Workshops that focused on topics including the Three-Minute-Talk (TmT). The TmT training will culminate in a final competition to be held at the Annual Scientific Training Day. Thirty-seven trainees participated in the TmT training, 15 trainees received two individualized coaching sessions and entered an NIMH IRP competition, 7 trainees are finalists and will compete at the Scientific Training Day. In 2017 the OFT offered 1:1 consultation with a communications coach for scientific presentations and job talks. Negotiation, Interview Skills and Chalk Talk Workshops have been added to the Scientific Communication Training portfolio and organized and are to be held in FY18. The OFT coordinated, organized and held the 9 th Annual Julius Axelrod Symposium in the Porter Neuroscience Center in April of FY17 to honor the 2016 SfN Axelrod Prize recipient Dr. Robert Malenka. The OFT and Office of the Clinical Director (OCD) worked together to offer a monthly Postbac Career Discussion series from September 2016 that focused on informal discussions between fellows and faculty on pursuing academic and/or clinical career paths. The OFT administered and organized the 2016/17 IRP Investigator Seminar Series, designed to familiarize IRP fellows and faculty with their colleagues' research. The 2017/18 series will commence in October 2017 and run through June 2018. In FY17 the OFT supported 70 IRTA slots so that all NIMH Summer Interns were paid. Thirty eight Principal Investigators hired 67 Summer IRTAs using the OFT Summer Intern slots. To enhance the Summer Internship Program (SIP) experience the OFT organized a journal club taught by NIMH Postdoctoral Fellows and a picnic for the Summer Interns to encourage the trainees to network with their colleagues. This year, 47 summer interns participated in the NIH Summer Research Program Poster Day. The OFT provided weekly orientations in May/June in addition to administrative support for all interns in the SIP. In FY17 the OFT administered and directed the University College London-NIMH Joint Doctoral Training Program in Neuroscience. Sixteen applications were considered, 7 applicants were interviewed, 3 offers were made but no new students joined the program. In FY17 the OFT administered and directed the NIH-Karolinska Institutet (NIH-KI) Program for Graduate Training in the Neurosciences. With regard to NIH-KI recruiting efforts, 15 applications were considered, 8 applicants were interviewed, 3 offers were made and 3 new students joined the program. In FY17 the OFT finalized renewal of the NIH-KI joint graduate program MOU, and the NIMH-Johns Hopkins University (NIMH-JHU) joint graduate Program MOU. The OFT participated in the selection of FY17 Outstanding Resident Award Program (ORAP) award recipients and provided support for the two-day award program.
