Advice for Career - Phase 1

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geniusindisguise

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Current 1st year fellow at an academic program here. I would like to pursue an academic career in a subspecialty running phase 1 trials at academic institutions. I have mentors in my subspecialty of interest and have some retrospective research projects ongoing. What advice could I gather from the elders of the community in preparing myself for success as a trialist? Also, what is a reasonable level of early phase trials experience a fellow from an academic program would be expected to have by graduation if looking for junior investigator jobs with such roles?

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1. If Phase 1 is your goal, a Phase 1 mentor is as/more important than a disease site mentor, unless you're in one of those places where Phase 1 is isolated to specific disease states, and not a general Phase 1 program. Bottom line, you need to work with people who know Phase 1.

2. Take this workshop in clinical trial design.

3. Then take this course in clinical trial design.

4. Go to ASCO or ASH, or any disease site sub-meetings (ASCO-GI, IASLC, ASBMT, SABCS, etc) that are relevant to your disease of interest, and go to all the Phase 1 talks and take advantage of the mentoring opportunities at all of them.

5. A Phase 1 "fellowship" is definitely not required, but you might find it helpful depending on the resources available at your current program. An away rotation many also be helpful, but can be hard to swing as a fellow.

6. Put together what you've learned in 2, 3 and 4 above (5 if you do it) and write a trial and a grant proposal. Work with the mentors you find in 1-5 above to perfect it. Submit it to every Young Investigator Award, industry sponsor and internal grant mechanism you can find.

Honestly, the connections you make and the work you do will be more helpful to you than being 17th (or even 1st) author on BS retrospective review studies. There are no retrospective Phase 1 trials. If you want to do Phase 1, you need to be all in.
 
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1. If Phase 1 is your goal, a Phase 1 mentor is as/more important than a disease site mentor, unless you're in one of those places where Phase 1 is isolated to specific disease states, and not a general Phase 1 program. Bottom line, you need to work with people who know Phase 1.

2. Take this workshop in clinical trial design.

3. Then take this course in clinical trial design.

4. Go to ASCO or ASH, or any disease site sub-meetings (ASCO-GI, IASLC, ASBMT, SABCS, etc) that are relevant to your disease of interest, and go to all the Phase 1 talks and take advantage of the mentoring opportunities at all of them.

5. A Phase 1 "fellowship" is definitely not required, but you might find it helpful depending on the resources available at your current program. An away rotation many also be helpful, but can be hard to swing as a fellow.

6. Put together what you've learned in 2, 3 and 4 above (5 if you do it) and write a trial and a grant proposal. Work with the mentors you find in 1-5 above to perfect it. Submit it to every Young Investigator Award, industry sponsor and internal grant mechanism you can find.

Honestly, the connections you make and the work you do will be more helpful to you than being 17th (or even 1st) author on BS retrospective review studies. There are no retrospective Phase 1 trials. If you want to do Phase 1, you need to be all in.
Thank you GutOnc. I have somewhat of a related follow up question on the note of going all in. If I have the option to single board and choose to move straight into instructorship or even do a phase 1 fellowship afterwards, is it a bad idea to do so if I want to leave the option of community practice open? At this point, I’m pretty certain I want to pursue the subspecialty clinical investigator route and the shortened training is tempting but Im not sure if it will close doors down the road in case things change.
 
Thank you GutOnc. I have somewhat of a related follow up question on the note of going all in. If I have the option to single board and choose to move straight into instructorship or even do a phase 1 fellowship afterwards, is it a bad idea to do so if I want to leave the option of community practice open? At this point, I’m pretty certain I want to pursue the subspecialty clinical investigator route and the shortened training is tempting but Im not sure if it will close doors down the road in case things change.
I single boarded and have only worked in community general practice. If you were certain of going to a community practice, I'd tell you to double board. But if you're going all in, might as well cut your losses and even consider the Phase 1 fellowship instead of a 3rd year of a general H/O fellowship.
 
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