Training Opportunities

The ETPB is dedicated to training the next generation of clinical translational researchers through recruitment of talented early-career and future researchers, including:

• Post-Baccalaureate Intramural Research Training Award (IRTA)
• Predoctoral IRTAs
• Post-Doctoral IRTAs
• Clinical Fellows
• Visiting Fellows
• Summer Internship Program participants

Dr. Zarate has been recognized for his accomplishments in mentoring at the NIH, including receiving the Ruth L. Kirschstein Mentoring Award in 2015 and being nominated for the Distinguished Clinical Teacher Award.

The ETPB training program employs a traditional mentorship model, ensuring tailored supervision and interaction for each trainee based on their academic level and goals. Training opportunities include lab meetings, clinical rounds, and didactic seminars on professional development topics. Trainees are encouraged to present their work, enhancing their public speaking and professional engagement skills.

The NIH offers a rich training environment, complemented by graduate course work at NIH's Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences (FAES)  and a wealth of clinical and didactic teaching opportunities, including Grand Rounds, special lectures, and seminars led by distinguished scientists. Numerous resources from the NIMH Office of Fellowship Training and the NIH Office of Intramural Training and Education  are available to all levels. Coursework offerings include:

• Research Bioethics
• Scientists Teaching Science
• Management "Bootcamp"
• Grantsmanship seminars featuring mock grant reviews
• Clinical Research Curriculum Certificate

Additionally, recent trainees have engaged in specialized FAES coursework, such as AFNI “Bootcamp”, Introductory R Bootcamp, Visualization with R, Introduction to Python, Introduction to Linux, Bash Shell Scripting, and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation training.

Opportunities for Trainees

Our trainees actively present their research and posters at major national and international professional conferences, including:

• American Psychiatric Association
• American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
• Anxiety and Depression Association of America
• Society for Biological Psychiatry
• International Conference on Bipolar Disorder

Training and Educational Opportunities for Physicians and Medical Students

• Clinical Fellowship Program (for graduating psychiatric residents)
• PGY4 Psychiatry Residency Program
• Clinical Electives Program (for medical students enrolled at an AAMC accredited medical degree-granting institution)

UCL-NIMH Joint Doctoral Training Program in Neuroscience

The Joint Doctoral Training Program in Neuroscience is a collaboration between the NIMH and the University College of London (UCL). This is an accelerated graduate program for students in neuroscience at both the UCL and the NIMH. It offers students the opportunity to conduct collaborative research between two laboratories, one at UCL, the other at the NIMH.

Facilities and Resources

Trainees benefit from access to a wide range of world-class clinical and research facilities and support in learning cutting-edge biomedical techniques. We encourage our trainees to learn to collect, analyze, and report across a broad range of resources including:

• Neuroimaging (PET, MRI, MRS, MEG)
• Electrophysiological techniques
• Biochemical analysis of patient-contributed samples (peripheral markers, proteomics, metabolomics, IPSCs and cultured neurons)
• Genetics/Genomics

The ETPB has also developed a biomarker and biobank (BioBNK) Laboratory that serves as a core for biological specimens for networks involving proof-of-concept clinical trials both within the branch and across the Division of Intramural Research Programs (IRP) at the NIMH.

Awards & Honors

Trainees have received numerous accolades, including:

• ADAA Alies Muskin Career Development Leadership Program
• American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) Travel Award
• American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology (ASCP) New Investigator Award
• American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology (ASCP) Clinical Trials Workshop Travel Award
• Anxiety and Depression Association of America Alies Muskin Career Leadership Program (CDLP)
• APA Division 38, Society for Health Psychology Anniversary Task Force, Presidential Award
• APA Research Colloquium for Junior Investigators
• Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance Gerald Klerman Young Investigator Award
• Dr. Richard J. Wyatt NIMH Memorial Fellowship Award for Translational Research
• German Research Foundation Walter Benjamin Fellowship Award
• International Society for CNS Clinical Trials and Methodology, New Investigator Award
• NARSAD/BBRF, Young Investigator Award
• Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Canada Graduate Scholarship – Doctorate
• NIH Career Development Institute for Psychiatry
• NIH Fellows Award for Research Excellence (FARE)
• NIH Office of Intramural Training and Education Summer Research Mentor Award
• NIH Pathway to Independence Award\
• NIMH Career Development Institute (CDI) for Bipolar Disorder Award
• NIMH Career Development Institute (CDI) for Psychiatry
• NIMH IRP Trainee Travel Award
• NIMH Outstanding Resident Award
• NIMH Outstanding Poster Award - Postbac Poster Day
• NIMH Seymour S. Kety Memorial Fellowship Training Award
• NIMH Three-Minute Talk (TmT) Award
• Molecular Psychiatry Young Investigator Travel Award
• Society of Biological Psychiatry (SOBP) Early Career Investigator Travel Award
• The International Society for CNS Clinical Trials and Methodology New Investigator Award

Alumni Success

Alumni of the ETPB, formerly a part of the NIMH Mood and Anxiety Disorders Unit, have gone on to excel in psychiatric and psychological clinical research, psychopharmacological development, and university faculty positions.

Notable Past Clinical/Postdoctoral Fellows

• Jorge A. Quiroz, MD: Neuroscience Translational Medicine, Roche Pharmaceuticals
• Jaskaran B.Singh, MD: Central Nervous System/Pain Therapeutic Area, Janssen Pharmaceuticals
• Philip Kronstein, MD: Division of Psychiatry Products, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
• Paul Carlson, MD: Department of Psychiatry, University of Utah)
• Andrew Newberg, MD: Department of Psychiatry, UNC Chapel Hill
• Lisa Catapano, MD, PhD: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, George Washington University Medical Center
• Giacomo Salvadore, MD: Neuroscience Experimental Medicine, Janssen Pharmaceuticals
• Sami Khalife, MD: Department of Psychiatry, NYU Medical Center
• Nancy DiazGranados, MD: Section of Clinical Assessment & Treatment Evaluation, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIH)
• Anibal Cravchik, MD, PhD: Private Psychiatric Practice
• Lobna Ibrahim, MD: Inpatient Psychiatry, Walter Reed National Naval Medical Center
• Jose Franco Chaves, MD: Outpatient Care, Veteran Affairs Caribbean Healthcare System (San Juan, Puerto Rico)
• Daniel C. Mathews, MD: Medical Affairs, H. Lundbeck A/S Pharmaceuticals
• Jennifer Vande Voort, MD: Department of Psychiatry and Psychology
• Erica Richards, MD, PhD: NIMH Office of the Clinical Director
• Marc Niciu, MD, PhD: Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Iowa Neuroscience Institute; University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA
• Marc Lener, MD: Founder and CEO, Singula Institute
• Bashkim Kadriu, MD, FACP: Head of Translational Medicine and Executive Director of Translational and Experimental Medicine, Neuroscience R&D, Jazz Pharmaceuticals
• Elia Acevedo-Diaz, MD: Principal Investigator, CBH Health
• Bartholt Bloomfield-Claggett, MD: Medical Officer, Division of Anesthesiology, Addiction Medicine and Pain Medicine, FDA
• Mani Yavi, MD: Special Volunteer, ETPB/SNMD, NIMH
• Jessica Reed, PhD: Senior Clinical Scientist—Neurosciences, Merck & Co
• Rafael De Sousa, MD, PhD: Director, Mood Disorders Program, Laboratory of Neurosciences, Institute of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
• Christoph Kraus, MD: Research Psychiatrist – Neuroimaging LABs Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Medical University of Vienna
• Jordi Bonaventura, PhD: Ramon y Cajal Investigator, University of Barcelona
• Vasileia C Kotoula, PhD: Lecturer in Neuroscience and Psychology, King’s College London
• Marjorie R. Levinstein, PhD: Postdoctoral Research Fellow IRTA at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Post-Baccalaureate Fellows

Post-baccalaureate fellows have continued their education at prestigious institutions, including:

Graduate Programs

• Boston University
• Columbia University (New York, NY)
• Louisiana State University
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Michigan State University
• New York University
• The Catholic University of America
• The George Washington University
• The University of California (Irvine)
• Trinity College (Hartford, CT)
• University of California, Los Angeles
• University of Miami
• University of Maryland
• University of Minnesota
• University of North Texas
• University of Pennsylvania
• University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine
• University of Rochester
• University of Suffolk

Medical Schools

• Alpert Medical School, Brown University
• Duke School of Medicine
• Emory University School of Medicine
• Harvard University Medical School
• Indiana Medical School
• The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
• The Medical University of South Carolina
• University of Michigan Medical School
• University of Virginia School of Medicine
• University of Washington Medical School
• Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
• Yale School of Medicine