The success of the FIT Program continues to grow. To date, more than $2 million in new grants have been awarded to FIT attendees. “The FIT Program’s outcomes have exceeded our expectations,” stated Jacque Marinac, FIT Program Director. She continues:

I believe the unique learning environment of the FIT Program is fundamental to its success. The FIT Program requires attendees to engage in intense and iterative critical self-evaluation and reflection, while the mentoring experiences challenge the mentees’ thought processes and knowledge base in a way that most have never experienced before. Attendees and mentors find it both exhausting and exhilarating.

Forty-six individuals have graduated from the FIT Program during the 3 years of its existence. The FIT Program is an annual, intensive, 1-week, hands-on program for up to 25 experienced pharmacist-investigators who have not yet been awarded significant peer-reviewed extramural funding as principal investigators. Through this mentored program, the pharmacist-investigator will take necessary steps toward preparing a K, R01, or similar investigator-initiated application for submission to the NIH or other major funding source.

The FIT Program is supported through gifts to the Frontiers Fund. To learn more about the FIT Program, go to http://www.accpri.org/fit/.