Investigational Cancer Therapeutics Fellowship

The Investigational Cancer Therapeutics Fellowship provides an exemplary training experience for fellows who wish to become experts in personalized cancer therapies and novel drug development, and prepare fellows for careers as the next generation of independent clinical researchers.

The fellowship offers a one-, two-, or three-year experience in early drug development. Fellows are trained in developing and conducting innovative clinical/translational trials with novel, targeted agents and are prepared for careers in academics, the pharmaceutical industry or government.    

MD Anderson provides a rich experience for fellows. Over 120,000 patients were seen here last year, and nearly one-third were new patients. Almost 7,600 participants were enrolled in clinical trials exploring innovative treatments.  In FY2013, our department alone had over 122 therapeutic trials and enrolled over 1,000 patients on our protocols. About one-fourth of our phase I trials are first-in-human studies.

There is a wealth of opportunity for interactions with a wide variety of investigators who are internationally known for their expertise in basic, translational and/or clinical science. Fellows will learn how to write trials, interact with sponsors, develop translational endpoints to understand drug impact and factors predicting response and host toxicity, present data at national or international meetings, analyze data and write/complete manuscripts.

Eligibility

Program applicants should have:

• M.D. or D.O. degree
• Completed an hematology/oncology residency or equivalent training
• An interest in a career in drug development
• Passed the licensure exam (USMLE Steps 1 & 2)
• Foreign-trained applicants must have ECFMG certification

Although completion of medical oncology training is not a requirement, fellows who have completed this training will be highly competitive for a fellowship position.

The Fellowship is supported by the Jeanne F. Shelby Scholarship Fund for Investigational Cancer Therapeutics.

Conferences & Courses

Weekly Meetings

• Investigational Cancer Therapeutics Grand Rounds
• Clinical Trials Treatment Planning Meeting
• Journal Club

Fall Courses

• Ethics in Clinical Trials Research (GS21 1102)
• Translational Sciences: From Bedside to Bench and Back (GS21 1232)
• Seminars in Clinical Cancer Research (GS21 1011)
• Seminars in Clinical Cancer Treatment (GS21 1031)

Spring Courses

• Human Protocol Research (GS21 1132)
• Translational Cancer Research (GS21 1613)

Summer Course
 

• Resources and Methods for Analysis of Patient-Derived Samples (GS21 1121)