b'8 EAST news | 2020 Issue 4Scholarship & Award Recipient TestimonialsThe EAST Multicenter Trials Junior Investigator Award provided support and a platform for collaborative research that allowed me to build connections with thought leaders across many other institutions and has led to many additional collaborative projects. The pilot data and published manuscript from our multicenter trial has been valuable in subsequent funding applications, but the most valuable aspect of the project was the experience I gained in running a multicenter trial. The experience afford by the Multicenter Trials Junior Investigator Award has propelled my career into the realm of multicenter partnerships and funded national collaborative quality improvement initiatives for injured children.Aaron Jensen, MD, MEd, MS UCSF Benioff Childrens Hospital OaklandMy ultimate career goal is to become an independently funded trauma surgeon-scientist. The EAST Trauma Research Scholarship gives me the opportunity to perform critical preliminary investigations toward identifying the mechanistic role of platelets and platelet-endothelial interactions in trauma-induced coagulopathy.Lucy Kornblith, MD, FACS UCSF Medican CenterThe EAST INVEST-C Program model is unique and extremely impactful. Mentorship may be the most important predictor as to how an academic surgeons research career progresses. We all gravitate towards mentors from institutions where we have completed some portion of our training due to relationships that have been cultivated over time. Developing relationships outside of this model can be quite difficult, but the INVEST-C program creates the opportunity to work with and learn from seasoned and successful academic surgeons from across the country. This program truly has the potential to catapult the research career of individual participants but, more importantly, can dramatically improve the care of the injured patient through the power of collaboration.Keith Miller, MD University of LouisvilleThis holiday season, shop AmazonSmile and support EAST. Youll find the same prices and vast selection as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to EAST, at no cost to you. Simply visit smile.amazon.com, select EAST, and support us every time you shop.'