This was the culminating event in the Trainee Coffee Hour series that the PROTECT RETCC has hosted over the past 6 weeks, and was attended by some 40 PROTECT Trainees, Staff, and Researchers. SRP Staff provided updates on how the NIEHS is addressing the COVID-19 crisis and how the pandemic has impacted the SRP Program and other NIEHS initiatives. The discussion then turned to the challenges trainees within PROTECT have experienced and how each project and core have been individually and uniquely affected by the global pandemic. This conversation touched on NIEHS resources available to SRP Centers, how trainees conducting lab research have altered their strategies and workflows, self-care during stay-at-home, and the mobilizing efforts of trainees in the community engagement core and other field roles in response to this crisis.
The PROTECT Center was fortunate to have these SRP guests on hand for the final coffee hour of the academic year. The interaction and sharing of experiences was extremely helpful to let the SRP program know how the pandemic is impacting researchers in the centers, and also for the PROTECT community to hear about programmatic
On the morning of Wednesday, June 24th, the PROTECT Research Experience and Training Coordination Core (RETCC) hosted a Trainee Virtual Coffee Hour with National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) administration staff members, Dr. Heather Henry, Dr. Michelle Heacock, Dr. Danielle Carlin, and Brittany Trottier as our esteemed guests. Drs. Henry, Heacock, and Carlin are all Health Scientist Administrators for the Superfund Research Program (SRP) who oversee grants and provide guidance for the SRP Centers within the NIEHS Program. Dr. Carlin is also the lead liaison between SRP trainees and the various training opportunities which are offered by SRP. Brittany Trottier is a Health Specialist for the SRP.
This was the culminating event in the Trainee Coffee Hour series that the PROTECT RETCC has hosted over the past 6 weeks, and was attended by some 40 PROTECT Trainees, Staff, and Researchers. SRP Staff provided updates on how NIEHS is addressing the COVID-19 crisis and how the pandemic has impacted the SRP Program and other NIEHS initiatives. The discussion then turned to the challenges trainees within PROTECT have experienced and how each project and core have been individually and uniquely affected by the global pandemic. This conversation touched on NIEHS resources available to SRP Centers, how trainees conducting lab research have altered their strategies and workflows, self-care during stay-at-home, and the mobilizing efforts of trainees in the community engagement core and other field roles in response to this crisis.
The PROTECT Center was fortunate to have these SRP guests on hand for the final coffee hour of the academic year. The interaction and sharing of experiences were extremely helpful to let the SRP program know how the pandemic is impacting researchers in the centers, and also for the PROTECT community to hear about programmatic developments. We look forward to continuing to develop programs, training opportunities, and events to provide trainees support throughout the ongoing COVID-19 crisis developments. We look forward to continuing to develop programs, training opportunities, and events to provide trainees support throughout the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
PROTECT Researchers & Trainees conversing with NIEHS Administrators on the Trainee Coffee Hour