Traveling Fellowship Information
NATF 2012 Traveling Fellowship Application Deadline To Be Announced
What is the NATF Traveling Fellowship Program?
With the goal of exploring the cross-disciplinary diagnosis, treatment, education, and research related to thrombosis, the NATF Traveling Fellowship Program is an annual scientific exchange opportunity for physicians, scientists, pharmacists (PharmD, RPh), nurses (NP, RN), or physician’s assistants (PA). NATF will provide an award equivalent to $7,500 for lodging and travel for one or more Fellows selected to visit a North American medical, research, or education center of his or her choice for up to 45 days.
The NATF Traveling Fellow will:
- Work on a joint project with hosting center
- Contribute to the development of a cross-disciplinary approach for the research, diagnosis, treatment, and education of thrombosis
- View research facilities and thrombosis diagnosis, treatment, and prevention methods
- Participate in scientific symposia with members of the NATF Board and Scientific Advisory Committee
- Participate in the 2010 North American Thrombosis Summit (Boston, MA, September 25, 2010; registration fee will be waived) attended by cross-disciplinary medical and scientific leaders
- Present learnings gained through NATF Traveling Fellowship at the Fall 2011 North American Thrombosis Forum’s Thrombosis Summit
- Serve as an NATF Ambassador
Click here to learn more about the NATF Traveling Fellows’ experiences
NATF Commitment to Future Leaders:
The NATF Traveling Fellowship Program was conceptualized to allow scientists and health professionals (MD, DO, PhD, PharmD, RPh, NP, PA, or RN) the opportunity to expand their fund of knowledge, as well as build positive and enduring relationships with others concerned with thrombotic disorders. NATF recognizes the vital impact training programs have on the future of thrombosis research, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.
Judging Criteria:
- Commitment to excellence in education, research, or clinical practice in the area of prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of thrombotic diseases
- Leadership ability, past, present, and future
- Proposed joint project with hosting center
- Impact of proposed project on prevention, diagnosis, treatment of thrombosis, expanded knowledge of its pathogenesis, or information synthesis and dissemination
- What the candidate can offer the Traveling Fellowship program
- What the candidate will gain from the program
- 2 Letters of recommendation
- Letter of support from the proposed supervisor which includes an outline of the agreed upon project, available resources, and supervisor’s role
- Personal statement
- The Fellow will be selected by the NATF Advisory Committee, chaired by Dr. Arthur A. Sasahara, MD, Profesor of Medicine, Emeritus, Harvard Medical School, and NATF Director
Application Requirements:
- The application form filled out with these attachments:
- Photograph*
- Abbreviated CV (no longer than 4 pages)
- Personal statement
- Proof of North American citizenship or residency of Canada, Mexico, or the United States
- Two (2) letters of recommendation
- Letter of support from proposed supervisor
- Brief biographical sketch of supervisor and list his/her recent publications
- Applicants must be practicing in North America
*Photo will be used for the purpose of publicity of selected Fellows; it will not be shared with judges prior to completion of selection process
Click Here to Access the Online Application
Meet our 2010 Academic Traveling Fellows
Daniel Adams, MD, MBA
Dr. Adams qualified as a medical doctor from the Tufts University School of Medicine in 2009, with a dual Masters degree in Business Administration. DrAdams has been with the Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah since 2009 when he completed a Transitional Year Internship. He is currently working in research as the Department of Medicine Chairman’s Scholar. Dr. Adams will return to Tufts Medical Center to complete his residency training in diagnostic radiology.
Dr. Adams’s research focuses on the appropriate utilization of the CT pulmonary angiogram (CTPA) for diagnosis of acute pulmonary embolism (PE). His current project involves a retrospective analysis using an evidence-based diagnostic algorithm including a clinical decision tool and a d-dimer assay to determine of the study was utilized appropriately. His analysis will provide an estimate for the rate of over-utilization of CTPAs for diagnosis of acute PE, as well as the rate of complications associated with CTPAs, including contrast-induced nephropathy, anaphylaxis, false-positive diagnosis, and increased risk for malignancy. Dr. Adams’s research will lay the foundation for a multidisciplinary quality improvement initiative at Intermountain that will aim to increase appropriate use of CTPA, decrease inappropriate use of CTPA, and decrease complications associated with inappropriate overutilization.
As a 2010 NATF Traveling Fellow, Dr. Adams will collaborate with Dr. Samuel Z. Goldhaber at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA to further advance his project.
Charles “Kurt” Mahan, PharmD
Dr. Mahan qualified as a doctor of pharmacy from the University of New Mexico in 2004. He received specialized anticoagulation and venous thromboembolism training from Dr. Alex Spryropoulos of Lovelace Medical Center in
Albuquerque, NM. Since 2005 Dr. Mahan has worked at the Lovelace Medical Center and Rehabilitation Hospital and is currently the Director of Hospital Pharmacy.
Dr. Mahan is focused on the prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE) with an eye on the standard of care provided both within the U.S. and internationally. He is particularly interested in better defining national medical and overall costs associated with VTE, and improving methods to reduce these costs. Dr. Mahan’s VTE research is aimed at reducing overall VTE and “preventable” VTE, while increasing appropriate prophylaxis rates as defined by type, dose, and duration.
As a 2010 NATF Traveling Fellow, Dr. Mahan will collaborate with Drs. Alex Spyropoulos and Alexander Graham Turpie to validate risk assessment models for both VTE and bleeding in the medical patient. The project will involve the development of a standardized tracking form to be utilized for retrospective chart review of patients identified as having VTE and major or clinically-relevant bleeding.
Indermohan Thethi, MD
Dr. Thethi qualified as a medical doctor from Kasturba Medical College in Manipal, Karnataka, India in 2002. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the St. Joseph Hospital, Chicago in 2008. Dr. Thethi is currently a
Hospitalist in Internal Medicine at Aurora Memorial Hospital in Burlington, WI. Dr. Thethi’s research involves inflammation in end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. He is particularly concerned with measuring the incidence of venous thromboembolism in this patient population.
As a 2010 NATF Traveling Fellow, Dr. Thethi will collaborate with Dr. Vinod Bansal of Loyola University Medical Center to address the prevalence of plasma markers for activation of coagulation in ESRD patients. Besides using
conventional assay methods, biochip array technology will be utilized both to profile these patients and in the risk stratification process. Moreover, since the ongoing program registry of these patients has been established, the prevalence of VTE will be identified. Patients with high D-dimer and increased thrombin generator makers will be identified and clinical data will be compared.
Meet our 2009 Academic Traveling Fellows
Elizabeth Pocock, MD
Dr. Pocock qualified as a medical doctor from the University of South Florida in 2005. Following a year-long internship in general surgery at the University of California, San Diego, Dr. Pocock then continued her residency in general surgery at UCSD in 2006-2008. She is currently a Post Doctoral Research Fellow at the UCSD Whitaker Institute of Biomedical Engineering. Among many professional activities, she has been a Medical Staff Executive Council member and Chair of the Resident Physician Council at UCSD since 2008, and a member of the Society of Vascular Surgery Governing Council since July of this year.
Dr. Pocock’s research focuses on chronic venous insufficiency (CVI). For the past year, she has been studying acute venous hypertension in an animal model. Dr. Pocock’s current aims are to identify the targets of matrix metalloproteinases in venous occlusion and venous hypertension, with the ultimate goal of her project being the identification of inflammatory markers that can be a potential target for early pharmacological intervention in the human population.
As a 2009 NATF Traveling Fellow, Dr. Pocock will collaborate with board-certified phlebologists Drs. Bergan and Bunke on a proposed project at the VA Hospital in La Jolla, CA, studying biochemical inflammatory markers in patients with chronic venous insufficiency (CVI).
Sara Vazquez, PharmD
Dr. Vazquez earned a doctor of pharmacy degree from the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy in 2005. She completed her Pharmacy Practice Residency with Emphasis in Ambulatory Care in 2005-2006 at the Regional Medical Center in Memphis Tennessee. Dr. Vazquez serves as coordinator and preceptor for pharmacy and medical student anticoagulation clerkships, in addition to serving as seminar mentor for pharmacy students, and lecturing for the University of Utah College of Pharmacy.
Dr. Vazquez’s research focuses on post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS). She has delivered several lectures on PTS, including one for the Utah Society of Health-System Pharmacy’s annual continuing education meeting. Her current practice is in a community based anticoagulation clinic where she conducts interviews with patients who have undergone point-of-care INR testing to adjust warfarin dosing accordingly.
As a 2009 NATF Traveling Fellow, Dr. Vazquez will collaborate with Dr. Susan Kahn of McGill University to develop and implement an innovative and enduring educational curriculum to foster better understanding of PTS treatment and prevention.
**Traveling Fellowship update:
Congratulations to Sara R. Vazquez, PharmD, BCOS, CACP from the University of Utah Thrombosis Center and Susan R. Kahn, MD, MSc, FRCPC of the McGill University and Jewish General Hospital for their recent publication in circulation: “Postthrombotic Syndrome“! This informative article was the first step in their project to better educate patients by using “patient-friendly terms”. This hard work is a direct outcome from the 2009 NATF Traveling Fellowship program.
Meet our 2008 Academic Traveling Fellows
Click here to learn more about the NATF Traveling Fellows’ experiences
Dr. Jones received her MD at Louisiana State University. She completed her internship and residency at the Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. Dr. Jones is currently a Fellow in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Clinical Pharmacology at Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, Texas.
Dr. Jones chose to pursue a career in pediatric hematology-oncology because it combines acute care of ill children with long-term continuity care. She has chosen to focus her career primarily in coagulation, hemostasis, and thrombosis. She feels that this area, especially the use of anticoagulation in children, is desperately in need on ongoing research.
Dr. Jones’ long-term research goal is to improve treatment of pediatric hematologic disease by improving the use of currently available therapies and to participate in the development of novel therapies. In her current work she is exploring the impact of individual genetic differences on drug dosing.
As part of her training plan, Dr. Jones has designed a four-week rotation with Dr. Patti Massicotte at Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta. This elective time will provide training and mentorship to complement her experiences at Texas Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Tran received her Doctorate in Pharmacy from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Boston. She completed her General Pharmacy Practice residency at the UMass Memorial Medical Center (UMMMC) and University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, where she is currently a Clinical Pharmacy Coordinator and Assistant Professor of Medicine. Dr. Tran is also the Director of the UMMMC PGY2 Cardiology Pharmacy Specialty Residency, and is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Worcester.
Over the past five years, Dr. Tran’s practice has been dedicated to improving the quality of patient care in the area of cardiovascular disease with a special focus on thrombotic disorders. Collaboration with health care providers through research, education, and clinical services in this area has helped to broaden her knowledge of safe and effective anticoagulation therapies.
Dr. Tran has a special interest in raising patient awareness of venous thromboembolic complications. As such, she has led the development of a system-wide, pharmacist-led patient education program for all hospitalized patients receiving treatment doses of warfarin and enoxaparin. Dr. Tran is also interested in developing a Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) Patient Prevention Education program for patients who have been hospitalized and are at increased risk for VTE after discharge from the hospital.
Acknowledgment of Commercial Support
This activity has been funded though unrestricted educational grants from the following companies:
- Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
- Covidien
- Ortho-McNeil Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC: Supported by an educational grant from Ortho-McNeil, Division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., administered by Ortho-McNeil Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC
