Short-Term Fellowships in Cancer Prevention Research

Funded by an R25E Education Grant from the National Cancer Institute

Announcements and Instructions 

The Cancer Prevention Research Training Program at the UT M. D. Anderson Cancer Center prepares scientists and clinicians to achieve leadership roles as research investigators in the field of cancer prevention and control. The Program is designed to expand the perspective of the trainees by moving them from their base of strength in a particular specialty and to equip them with additional knowledge of the other cancer prevention and control disciplines. This cross-disciplinary training is accomplished by attending seminars and by participating in ongoing mentored research. Students are immersed in the type of cross-disciplinary research environment typical of cancer prevention and control research and encouraged to pursue careers in cancer prevention research.

Graduate students, medical and nursing students will have hands-on experience in ongoing cancer prevention and control research projects under the mentorship of an established investigator on the faculty of the UT M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. The M. D. Anderson Cancer Center has existing patient databases and accessible populations for prevention and control research. Faculty research mentors supervise extensive epidemiologic, laboratory and clinical facilities. Educational and research objectives for the three- or six-month period will be mutually agreed upon by the student, the academic advisor, and the M. D. Anderson faculty mentor. Students will be expected to devote part-time effort to this research training and may not have other employment.

Applicants must select an M. D. Anderson faculty mentor who is engaged in cancer prevention research to supervise the proposed research project within one or more of the faculty member’s ongoing research projects. Applicants should identify potential mentors from the on-line M. D. Anderson Research Report and contact them directly concerning the possibility of mentorship. If you select an instructor as your primary mentor, please contact Dr. Shine Chang before you apply. In close consultation with your mentor and academic advisor, you must develop and submit a proposed research project description that may become the foundation of a master’s thesis or the preliminary study for a doctoral dissertation.

Eligibility: Students may be from backgrounds in the basic biomedical sciences, medicine, biomedical statistics, epidemiology, behavioral and social sciences, nursing and related public health disciplines. Students must be U.S. citizens or lawfully admitted permanent residents of the United States. Applicants with visas are not eligible. The Advisory Committee selects students based on the merit of the applicant’s proposed educational objectives and the acceptance of the applicant by the assigned faculty mentor.

Three-month appointments: All graduate students and underrepresented minority undergraduate students are eligible for three-month fellowships. Graduate students must be currently enrolled in an accredited graduate program in basic biomedical sciences, biomedical statistics, epidemiology, behavioral and social sciences, nursing and related public health disciplines or in medical school.

Six-month appointments: Applicants interested in the six-month fellowship must be (1) enrolled in a doctoral program and hold a master’s degree or equivalent from appropriate health science disciplines, and 2) intend to apply subsequently for a multi-year fellowship supported by our NCI R25T training program.

• For those intending to apply for a predoctoral fellowship, applicants must be enrolled in a doctoral program and be within 18 months of their qualifying exam
• For those intending to apply for a postdoctoral fellowship, applicants must be within 12 months of completing their dissertation

Note: Current three-month awardees may request an additional three months if eligible.

Stipend amount: $2,166/Month (subject to change)

Application process: To start the application process, first discuss your intentions with your sponsoring mentor. If you decide to proceed with your application, please call or e-mail Ms. Dee Tello, academic coordinator, 713-745-2495, dtello@mdanderson.org, and notify her of your intention to apply. Ms. Tello will create an application account for you in the Discover online system. You will receive an e-mail notifying you that the account has been activated and that you should begin submitting your materials. Trainee and Alumni Affairs requires you to provide a “Statement of Intent” to initiate the application process; you will see instructions on the Discover system.

All application materials must be submitted through the applicant’s Discover online system account. Original documents must be scanned and uploaded. Please save hard copies of original documents since they will be requested if you are awarded the fellowship.

Deadlines and submission: Applications are accepted at any time; there is no deadline for the Short-Term Research Experience program. Processing time for applications is approximately four to six weeks. For information contact Ms. Dee Tello, 713-745-2495, dtello@mdanderson.org, Shine Chang, Ph.D., director, Cancer Prevention Education Program 713-563-3573, ShineChang@mdanderson.org, or Carrie Cameron, Ph.D., associate director, 713-794-1476, ccameron@mdanderson.org. Our office is located in the Cancer Prevention Building on the 7th floor, CPB 7.3550, 1155 Pressler St. - Unit 1340, Houston, Texas 77030.

Application Materials Required (Please do not staple.)

1. A complete proposal, not to exceed five pages, describing your proposed program of research in any discipline related to cancer prevention, in the following format: (Upload on-line under option “Misc” and name document "Project Proposal".):
   
   a. Heading at the top of the first page, to include 1) your name and degree, 2) your current institution, 3) specialization, 4) a brief descriptive title for your proposed project and 5) the name and department of your proposed M. D. Anderson faculty mentor. A secondary mentor may be named and may be on the faculty of another institution (committee chair or advisor).
   
   b. Your proposed project and faculty mentor: You must explain the relevance of your proposed research experience to cancer prevention. If the proposed project will be related to an ongoing research grant or grants, include the title and abstract of the grant(s), length of grant funding and name of the principal investigator. Your proposal must describe your role in the project(s), research aims that you will address relevant to cancer prevention, methods you will use and expected outcomes, such as abstracts, presentations and publications.
   
   c. Your proposed research timeline: You must show a planning timeline of your proposed research activities for each week of the three-month fellowship period. You may use any format, but it should give the Review Committee a clear idea that you can accomplish your objectives within the three- or six-month time period.
   
   d. Educational objectives: Describe new skills you expect to learn as a result of the fellowship and how they relate to your career goals.
   
   e. Statement of intent: Applicants submitting a proposal for a six-month appointment should indicate on the proposal their intention to apply for the R25T fellowship and how the six-month appointment will lead to it.
   
   f. Describe any special skills that make you especially suited to carry out proposed project.
   
   g. Other comments you wish to add that will aid in the review of your application. Your mentor must review and endorse the proposal by signing the last page. Applications without signatures will not be accepted.
   
   h. Mentor’s letter of support: Should be on letterhead, signed and addressed to Dr. Shine Chang, Ph.D., director, UT M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Cancer Prevention Research Training Program, and uploaded on-line into the Discovery system under “Letter of Recommendation.” In addition to submitting your letters on-line, please send the originals to our office; we cannot finalize your appointment without receiving them. Mentor should indicate on their support letter for a six-month appointment that the R25E project could turn into a dissertation project that would be the basis of the R25T application.
   
   
2. Letter of recommendation from the academic advisor: should be on letterhead, signed and addressed to Dr. Shine Chang, Ph.D., director, UT M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Cancer Prevention Research Training Program, and uploaded on-line under “Letter of Recommendation.” Applicants may also submit a letter of recommendation from a professor who has taught or supervised the applicant for at least one year. We will accept scanned letters on-line as long as they are on letterhead and signed. In addition to submitting your letters on-line, we will need the originals in our office before an appointment can be finalized.
   
   
3. For six-month applicants only, please include:
   
   • A memo stating the date (or proposed date) of your doctoral qualifying exams
   • Proof of Enrollment or a Letter of Good Standing (original scanned and uploaded into Discover)
   • A letter from your dissertation chair stating when you will complete your dissertation, signed and on letterhead
   
   
4. Applicant’s curriculum vitae or resume, including previous research projects, dates and faculty supervisors (applicant’s name in top right corner of each continuation page and pages numbered). Upload your CV/resume on-line under “CV.”
   
   
5. GRE or MCAT scores, as appropriate. Upload on-line under “Misc.”
   
   
6. Current graduate school transcripts, uploaded on-line under “School Transcript of Highest Degree.” Copies or unofficial documents are acceptable for the application process, but if you are awarded the fellowship, you will need to submit official documents.
   
   
7. CPRTP Fellowship Requirements Memo, signed by you and your mentor. The form for this memo was sent to you as an attachment to the e-mail inviting you to create a Discover account.
   
   
8. Please note: Up-to-date immunization records are required if you are accepted into the program. This is a Trainee and Alumni Affairs requirement.
   
   
9. Checklist: A file containing a checklist will be attached to the e-mail inviting you to activate your Discover account. You should review and sign the completed checklist before uploading it into the Discover account. Once all documents are uploaded, please notify our office (MCPilar@MDAnderson.org) by e-mail that your application has been completed. Once we receive this e-mail, we will verify the completion of your application and advance the application for review.

The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center is an equal opportunity employer and a smoke-free workplace. This program encourages applications from women and minority students. This program is supported by the National Cancer Institute, Grant R25-CA54452.