An important goal at TIMI has been to train the next generation of clinical investigators. We are fortunate that many of our trainees have assumed important faculty positions around the world.
TIMI research fellows have typically already completed at least 2 years of a general cardiology fellowship, have some experience in cardiovascular clinical research, have very strong letters of support from their fellowship director and most recent research mentor, and funding. Fellowship at TIMI is a full-time research position for usually 2 years and involves training in two broad domains. The first domain is clinical trial design and execution. Fellows are an absolutely integral part of a clinical trial team. They learn about and help develop the protocol, case report form, and all the necessary trial charters, and they help train investigators globally. As the trial moves through the enrollment and follow-up phases, they monitor the progress and help the team ensure the trial is completed in a timely manner and implemented with the highest quality.
The second domain is in developing hypotheses and testing them in existing TIMI trial datasets. Thanks to our longstanding commitment to doing high-quality clinical trials with important embedded substudies, we have a large number of richly annotated datasets that include clinical data, circulating biomarkers, genetics, and electrocardiographic and angiographic measurements. Working with a Senior Investigator, fellows learn how to frame a hypothesis, plan the appropriate statistical analyses, and interpret the data they generate. Our expectation is that a fellow’s research endeavors will translate into important abstracts and corresponding manuscripts, and that their data can serve as the foundation for competitive grant submissions.
The TIMI Study Group is committed to training and mentoring our research fellows so that they develop and refine the skills necessary for success as a physician-scientist and clinical trialist.
For information about the TIMI Fellowship Program, contact Kate Brennan.
TIMI fellowship alumni practice medicine and conduct research in 12 countries (and in 13 U.S. states).