TingTing Li, MD, Associate Program Director for Clinical Research and Career Development
The Division of Nephrology is pleased to announce that Associate Professor of Medicine Dr. Tingting Li has joined our fellowship leadership program as Associate Program Director for Clinical Research and Career Development.
In this new position, Dr. Li will join Dr. Steven Cheng, Training Program Director – Nephrology Fellowship, and Dr. Seth Goldberg, Associate Program Director for Wellness and Recruitment, in providing mentorship and guidance to our renal fellows as part of our training program designed to develop leaders in investigational and clinical nephrology.
“For the research aspect of fellowship training, my role will be to assist fellows in identifying research mentors and to facilitate effective mentor-mentee relationships, as well as help them develop skills and gain hands-on experience in the design and conduct of clinical research projects,” says Li, a former renal fellow in our division from 2002-2005. She joined our faculty in 2010. “In addition, I will ensure that fellows have the tools and resources necessary to successfully complete their projects.”
To accomplish these tasks, Li has already established formal fellowship research guidelines and implemented a new fellow evaluation process. She is also currently developing a clinical research lecture series so that fellows can learn the fundamental principles of clinical research.
By meeting semi-annually with each fellow and research mentor/co-mentor (the Mentorship Committee), Li will evaluate the progress of the research projects and discuss career goals. She stresses the importance of being “100% accessible to the fellows and supportive of their needs.”
Li has a strong background in clinical research. Together with an inter-disciplinary team of collaborators, she recently received funding from the inaugural Clinical Innovation Grants (CIG), a program that provides resources for clinical research projects within the Division of Nephrology. In collaboration with the St. Louis Veterans Affairs Clinical Epidemiology Center, Li is also involved with studies examining risk factors, clinical course and long-term outcomes of lupus nephritis in a population of veterans. She completed the Master of Science in Clinical Investigation program at Washington University, examining the ability for International Classification of Diseases coding to correctly identify lupus nephritis patients in the Veteran’s Health Administration database. Li was the 2019 recipient of our division’s Nathan Hellman Memorial Teaching Award in Nephrology, an annual award given to a faculty member selected by fellows within our division.
Providing guidance in career development, Dr. Li will work with the fellows to explore available opportunities that will help them excel in their careers. This will include helping fellows navigate through the numerous elective options, both within and outside our division, making them aware of various networking opportunities, as well as providing support and resources in career planning.
As part of the career development program, Li and colleagues Drs. Steven Cheng, Charbel Khoury, Assistant Professor of Medicine, and Anubha Mutneja, Director of Home Modalities, are planning an upcoming Fellow Career Development Retreat, which will cover a variety of topics related to career development and professional growth. (Details to follow.)
On Twitter, follow Drs. Li @Ting2li, Goldberg @sgoldber99, Khoury @Charbel_Khoury, Cheng @Renal_Rhapsody, and Mutneja @AnubhaMutneja.