During his keynote address, Keith Joiner, MD, MPH, dean of the College of Medicine, congratulated the graduates on their accomplishments. He said the program plays an important role in training individuals to become independently funded clinical researchers, particularly those in the early stages of their careers, where there is a great need for such investigators. He also commended the leadership efforts of AzCRTP director Duane Sherrill, PhD, professor of biostatistics in the UA Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.

AzCRTP educates scholars in the multidisciplinary principles, methods, and techniques of clinical research and provides them the tools necessary to become independently funded clinical researchers who will contribute to the advancement of biomedical science and health care.

This year's AzCRTP graduates represent five disciplines in the Arizona Health Sciences Center: Lisa Chan, MD, associate professor of clinical emergency medicine, UA Department of Emergency Medicine; Mary Olsen Connelly, MD, maternal-fetal medicine fellow, UA Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology; Timothy M. Miller, MD, assistant professor of neurology and pathology, UA Department Neurology; Kimberly N. Otsuka, MD, pediatric pulmonary fellow, UA Department of Pediatrics; and Elaine W. Rousseau, PhD, director of research, Arizona Center on Aging.

AzCRTP also welcomed seven new scholars into the program: Nasiya Ahmed, MD, geriatrics fellow, UA Department of Medicine; Jason Everly, PharmD, post-doctoral fellow, antineoplastic drug development, UA College of Pharmacy; Katherine Hiller, MD, assistant clinical professor, UA Department of Emergency Medicine; Sairam Parthasarathy, MD, assistant professor, UA College of Medicine and attending physician, Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System; Katalin Scherer, MD, assistant professor, UA Department of Neurology; Donna Wolk, PhD, assistant professor, UA Department of Pathology and director of the Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory, Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System; and Mark D. Wright, MD, clinical assistant professor, UA Department of Emergency Medicine.

Irene Gutierrez, left, leads fellow first-year medical students in a powwow during the Dean's Teaching Day in August. Designed to help first- and second-year medical students develop cultural awareness, the event, "Communicating With Our Native American Patients," featured the group, Yellowhorse Drum, leading the powwow, interviews with Native American "patients" and keynote speakers from the Native American Cardiology Program, a collaboration among the Indian Health Service, UA Sarver Heart Center, UMC, Flagstaff Medical Center, the Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System and Native American tribes and communities.