Since 2013, experts in delirium research and mentees have gathered for the annual Delirium Boot Camp. As co-leader of the NIDUS Dissemination and Communication Core, Center for Aging and Health director Dr. Jan Busby-Whitehead has co-lead the NIDUS II Delirium Boot Camp alongside Dr. John Devlin (PharmD, Northeastern University) since 2021. And UNC-CH has been the host site for Boot Camp during these years.
World Class Training from Expert Delirium Researchers
This year, 12 mentees from Canada, Ghana, Taiwan, Uganda, and across the USA gathered at UNC’s Rizzo Conference Center for this three-day NIA-funded training event. They were led and mentored by 16 faculty from Australia, Canada, and the USA whose research focuses on delirium. Each year, the faculty present their insights on various topics. In addition to their talks, Boot Camp faculty led networking sessions and offered both formal and informal mentoring to mentees.
The 2024 Boot Camp theme was Delirium and ADRD: Research Gaps and Opportunities. This year’s keynote presenters were Lis Evered, PhD, Tamara Fong MD, PhD, Tim Girard, MD, MSc. In addition, renowned delirium expert Ed Marcantonio, MD, SM, led a workshop on assessing delirium using various CAM (Confusion Assessment Method) instruments. Other presenters covered delirium-related topics like biomarkers, animal models and research methodologies. These included UNC School of Medicine faculty Dr. Casey Olm-Shipman and Dr. C. Adrian Austin.
NIH-Style Mock Study Sessions
For many mentees, a major Boot Camp highlight is the NIH-style mock study sessions. Prior to each Boot Camp, faculty train mentees to review their fellow mentees’ research proposals. Then during the Boot Camp grant reviewing sessions, one mentee and two faculty members review a mentee proposal. So not only do mentees have their own proposals critiqued, but they also have the opportunity to learn about critiquing others’ proposals.
After Boot Camp
Boot Camp alumni all learn a great deal from their three days of training and mentoring. They also connect with other mentees who may become their future research collaborators. And a number of them successfully receive pilot grants or other awards which help them further their delirium research.
NIDUS
(Network for Investigation of Delirium: Uniting Scientists) is a collaborative research network dedicated to spurring innovation and new advances in delirium research through development of new research and measurement resources, training opportunities, pilot funding and dissemination of information. It is funded through an award from the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging (grant no. R33AG071744, PI: Inouye).
Boot Camp History
Dr. Sharon Inouye (MD, MPH, Harvard University) founded the Delirium Boot Camp in 2013 through a career development award. With this grant, she established CEDARTREE (the Center for Excellence for Delirium in Aging: Research, Training and Educational Enhancement). From 2016 to 2020, the Delirium Boot Camp was funded by an NIA R24 Network Grant under leadership of Donna Fick (PhD, MSN, Penn State) and Wes Ely (MD, MPH, Vanderbilt University). Presently, the 2021-2025 NIDUS II Delirium Boot Camp is funded by an NIA R13 Conference Grant and is led by Jan Busby-Whitehead, MD and John W. Devlin, PharmD.