Cancer Care Delivery and Outcomes Research Fellowship
A Program for Medical Students from Backgrounds Traditionally Underrepresented in Medicine
Goal: To provide opportunity for intensive training in cancer population science for medical students who are from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in medicine.
Program: The Fellowship will provide a one-year mentored training experience in research focused on cancer care delivery and outcomes. We specifically seek applicants who are from backgrounds that are traditionally underrepresented in medicine (URiM) in order to enhance diversity within the field and bring needed voices into population sciences research.
Students will spend one year (July 2024-June 2025) conducting mentored research within the Division of Population Sciences at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) in Boston, Massachusetts, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital. Examples of potential areas of focus include cancer care quality, cancer care delivery, health communication, health equity, informatics, ethics, supportive care interventions, and palliative care, among other areas of interest of faculty. The year will start with the 7-week Program in Clinical Effectiveness at the Harvard School of Public Health in July and August, coursework that will help provide the student with a background in research methods. The student will then continue the program of research at DFCI. Based on interests identified at the time of application, the student will be guided toward an appropriate mentor who will provide research oversight and supervision. The mentor will work closely with the student to develop a research question and plan, to assist the student in carrying out the research project, and to facilitate dissemination of research findings through talks and publications upon completion. The goal will be for the student to complete a research project over the course of the year and gain experience in academic oncology as a career path.
An additional career mentor will be assigned to meet with the student regularly to provide academic and career guidance and to foster connections with others in the field.
The student will receive salary support as well as tuition for the Program in Clinical Effectiveness and a stipend for research costs. The student will have designated workspace within the Division and access to a computer.
We encourage students from medical schools across the US to apply.
Faculty Director: Jennifer Mack, MD MPH, Director of the Center for Outcomes and Policy Research and Associate Chief of the Division of Population Sciences, DFCI
Application Process: Interested students should send the following to Nicole Santangelo (Nicole_santangelo@dfci.harvard.edu) by November 14, 2023:
- A completed application
- A personal statement describing background and motivation to pursue the fellowship program (up to one page)
- A statement summarizing an interesting question in cancer care delivery and outcomes research and possible ways to answer it through research (up to ½ page)
- A medical school transcript
- Curriculum vitae
- A letter of recommendation
Note: The National Institutes of Health considers the following groups to be underrepresented in biomedical research:
- Individuals from racial and ethnic groups such as Blacks or African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, American Indians or Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders
- Individuals with disabilities
- Individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds
- Women from the above backgrounds
Questions can be directed to: nicole_santangelo@dfci.harvard.edu