Department of Medicine Faculty Development Academy Kicks Off the Year with New Cohort

A new cohort of 17 Faculty Development Academy (FDA) members kicked off the academic year on September 26 under the director of Department of Medicine Vice Chair for Faculty Development,  Dr. Carla Brady.

Dr. Matthew McCravy, former fellow and member of the Fellows Research Academy (FRA), now medical instructor in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, is excited about having continued support in getting his career off to a strong start.

“Ultimately the FRA was a very positive experience to help me stay on track and navigate some of the things people don’t talk about like career trajectories and what all of the grant numbers mean,” he said. “As a new faculty  member, Dr. Crowley encouraged me to join the FDA so I could continue receiving critical guidance. My big goal for the year is getting my K08 funded.  Therefore, what I want to learn during my time with the FDA is how to balance a faculty role when I have more clinical responsibilities. There is significantly more responsibility, so I am really looking forward to managing that and hearing from senior investigators who have been successful.”

New FDA member Dr. Sargam Kapoor, assistant professor in the Division of Hematology, works in Raleigh and is looking for Duke networking opportunities and having a mentor who understands what it is like to be an early career investigator. “As an early career hematologist there are certain things that are going well, and then there are some challenges. I’m looking forward to gaining connections and working with a mentor and colleagues who may be having the same struggles, and being able to learn from each other,” she said.

The new Academy members will join returning members who began the first year of their two-year journey in the Academy in September 2023.   All Academy members will participate in a Career Development Seminar Series (CDSS) that will provide faculty development education.  The CDSS curriculum has been streamlined this year to include in-person and virtual sessions.  An exciting new feature for this year’s CDSS is a half-day career development workshop, which will take place on October 16.  The members will also receive coaching from senior faculty members in the Department of Medicine.