The first annual meeting of the U2C/TL1 national sites – now referred to as KUHR-TN (KUH Research Training Network) – was held in Cleveland, OH. We had a fantastic TRIO turnout, including 11 trainees, and at least 1 PI from each Core, with 2 PIs from the Overall and Training Cores.  

Dr. Almeida-Porada gave an inspiring Keynote Lecture, and Drs. Falk, Roy-Chaudhury, and Xunrong Luo all led Master Classes for the trainees.  The PIs had an engaging 2-hour session with our NIDDK/KUH program officers, and the Networking Core PIs also met. All cores, across the now 15 funded programs, are now connecting more regularly as a large cohort.  

Our TRIO trainees had ample opportunities to connect with each other and with trainees from around the country, share and get feedback on their research via the poster sessions, and have exposure to a number of career development topics.  The meeting was guided by a trainee committee, so a special thanks goes out to TRIO pre-doc trainee, Sarah Wachtman at Wake Forest, for the time and energy she put forth with this committee and at the meeting.  The TRIO trainees provided input and feedback for how to expand and improve the meeting next year, and they met with the NIDDK/KUH program officers to share their impressions about this mechanism and their training experiences (without PIs in attendance).  KUDOS to each TRIO trainee for attending and participating so fully in every aspect of the meeting!  What a brilliant and fun group; future KUH research and leadership are in good hands!