Dear Colleague, The K award provides its awardees with protected time to acquire skills and conduct their own research under the supervision of a designated mentor, making it an important step for postdocs and early career scientists toward becoming independent investigators. However, only about 26% of NIMH K award applicants received funding in fiscal year (FY) 2005, and this number is projected to decrease to 20% in FY 2006 (source: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/researchfunding/training.cfm, accessed Oct. 30, 2006). How can K applicants increase their chances of success? In MedEdMentoring.org's latest presentation, Greg Siegle, PhD, in a conversation with Charles F. Reynolds III, shares his experience with applying for and receiving K funding. Sincerely, Stephen J. Bartels, MD, MS; Martha L. Bruce, PhD, MPH; Maureen Halpain, MS; Barry D. Lebowitz, PhD; Charles F. Reynolds III, MD; Gwenn Smith, PhD; Joel E. Streim, MD; Jürgen Unützer, MD, MPH, MA

MedicalUpdates
Developing Educational Leaders: The Teaching Scholars Program at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine.
Muller JH, Irby DM.
Acad Med. 2006 Nov;81(11):959-964.
A Teaching Scholars Program (TSP) was established in 1998 in the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), School of Medicine with the mission of building knowledgeable and skilled educational leaders, teachers, and scholars.

Preparing junior investigators to develop gerontological research.
Holston EC, Schweitzer R, Meeker ME, Hendrix CC, Gaspar PM, Kossman S, Piamjariyakul U.
Nurs Outlook. 2006 Sep-Oct;54(5):287-93.
There is a growing concern about the number of junior investigators in nursing committed to gerontological research. This article discusses the feedback of 8 junior investigators participating in a week-long intensive program for gerontological research.

Mentoring for women and underrepresented minority faculty and students: experience at two institutions of higher education.
Kosoko-Lasaki O, Sonnino RE, Voytko ML.
J Natl Med Assoc. 2006 Sep;98(9):1449-59.
The mentoring models for women and underrepresented minority faculty and students at Creighton University Health Sciences Schools and Wake Forest University School of Medicine are described. These programs appear to be quite successful in the short term.

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MostViewedPresentations
General
K Hints
Greg Siegle, PhD; Charles F. Reynolds III, MD
The NIH Mentored Career Development Awards, better known as K awards, are intended to assist postdocs and early career scientists in making the transition to independent investigators. In his discussion with Dr. Reynolds, Dr. Siegle shares his experience with successfully applying for the K award and gives useful information for others ready to take this important step.

Geriatric
Research Mentoring in Mental Health
Joel E. Streim, MD
In this presentation, Dr. Streim reviews various special considerations specifically for research mentoring in the area of aging and mental health.


MostReadArticles  
General
Mentoring in academic medicine: a systematic review.
Sambunjak D, Straus SE, Marusic A.
JAMA. 2006 Sep 6;296(9):1103-15.
Mentoring is central to academic medicine, but it is challenged by increased clinical, administrative, research, and other educational demands on medical faculty. Evidence for the value of mentoring was evaluated in a literature search of databases.

Geriatric
Mentoring partnerships for minority faculty and graduate students in mental health services research.
Waitzkin H, Yager J, Parker T, Duran B.
Acad Psychiatry. 2006 May-Jun;30(3):205-17.
The authors developed mentorship programs to train minority junior faculty and advanced graduate students in mental health services research. Evaluations suggest that these programs have influenced participants' career development.


InTheNews
Institute Of Medicine Elects 65 New Members, 5 Foreign Associates
Medical News Today, October 11, 2006
Dilip V. Jeste, MD, is one of 65 new members of the Institute of Medicine. Election to IOM recognizes those who have made major contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care, and public health.

Report: Elderly suicide rate soars
tulsaworld.com, October 23, 2006
The high suicide rate in elderly people suggests depression haunts many older Americans, but experts say for those 65 and older mental health care is inadequate, inaccessible and underfunded.

Maintenance treatment prevents recurrence in older adults with single-episode depression
MedicineNews.net, October 17, 2006
An NIMH-funded study of patients 70 and older showed that long-term treatment (for at least 2 years) after a patient is symptom-free is effective in preventing future depressive episodes.

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