National Cancer Institute T32 Training Program

A number of postdoctoral positions are available every year in diverse areas including synthetic chemistry, cell biology, biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics, biomedical engineering, and imaging. These positions are restricted to US citizens and/or permanent residents.

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Description of training program

The purpose of the training program is to provide an opportunity for outstanding postdoctoral students to begin their career in a multidisciplinary molecular imaging environment at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. The program is designed to encourage well-educated and qualified students to begin their research under close tutelage of a senior mentor. The two-year Program will assure that fellows receive outstanding training prior to commencing their independent career path. Our program emphasizes the education of basic (PhD) and clinical (MD or MD/PhD) scientists in the principles and applications of molecular techniques to answer basic science questions through in vivo imaging. The development, validation, and application of such novel imaging techniques (e.g. receptor mapping, imaging of gene delivery and gene expression, imaging of cell trafficking in vivo, 3D imaging in developmental biology) should further enhance our understanding of disease mechanisms and go hand in hand with the development of molecular medicine. The program consists of didactic lectures, laboratory exercises and individual research projects.

Benefits of pursuing postdoctoral training in the CSB at MGH

MGH is one of the leading clinical facilities and research institutes in the eastern US, with the highest federal funding of any non-federal US research institute. The institution is part of the extensive Harvard Medical School affiliated medical research community in Boston, with members such as Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital and Dana Farber Cancer Institute, all world class research facilities in their own right. Postdoctoral training in the CSB at MGH provides a first class research environment, including state-of-the-art facilities and equipment, extensive multi-institution library facilities, exposure to a wide range of seminars and lectures given by premier scientists in their field and an unrivaled capability for collaborative study both within the department and across institutions. The CSB provides an interdisciplinary environment allowing for breadth of research, accommodation of different interests and scope for the development of novel avenues of investigation. All of this is possible under the umbrella of imaging research and tumor biology. Postdoctoral fellows are expertly supported by well-trained and experienced faculty, while at the bench day-to-day assistance can be found consistently from the junior faculty and additional support staff. The CSB provides an environment for both basic and clinical scientists to collaborate and explore their mutual interests with view to a better understanding of clinical disease processes. Training at the CSB provides a solid foundation in research and a stepping stone to a successful academic career.

Teaching sessions

There are a number of lecture series and standing conferences open to all fellows in the program. The mandatory teaching sessions include 1) lecture series in molecular and cell biology topics relevant to cancer treatment and imaging; 2) lecture series in tumor biology; 3) lectures on scientific design and data management; and 4) laboratory meetings. Fellows are encouraged to also attend other lectures open to Harvard and MGH employees.

Practical experience

It is expected that all trainees have a working knowledge in performing basic benchtop research for example PCR, sequencing, cell culture, chemical synthesis and/or imaging. During the first 3 months, trainees will spend one week periods in the following areas (1) chemistry core, (2) molecular biology core, (3) the cell culture core, and (4) the imaging core. In these cores, trainees will be given one-on-one instruction on the equipment, experimental design, data interpretation, and data troubleshooting.

Individual Research Projects

As trainees work in various laboratories during the first month, they will be exposed to various ongoing research projects. At the end of the first month period, trainees will have a formal meeting with the Program Director to define an area of research interest. This research area may involve ongoing or novel work. A trainee will then be assigned to an appropriate staff member for supervision. The trainee is expected to formally meet with his supervisor at least twice per week to discuss current projects. The trainee will periodically be assigned to present data at the weekly laboratory meeting. The progress of the trainee will be reported by the CSB staff supervisor in writing to the Program Director semi-annually.

Typically, a two year period of training is required. At the end of this time, trainees are expected to have an in-depth knowledge of molecular imaging techniques, completed a novel and significant research project, presented a paper at a national meeting and submitted at least one paper for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

Faculty

The primary teaching faculty consists of 32 MD/PhD and/or PhD scientists with extensive experience in basic research and in pre and postdoctoral education. The faculty has over 35 extramural research grants including over 20 ROI, 8 Program Project Grants, and 5 Center Grants. The faculty has successfully supervised over 300 pre and postdoctoral fellows in various aspects of basic and clinical research.

The scientific breadth of the faculty and their experience in teaching is one of the greatest strengths of the training program. Their expertise provides a multidisciplinary skills base from which trainees can draw to develop their own projects and ultimately their own research careers.

Application procedures

All applicants are required to submit curriculum vitae, three references letters and complete a standard MGH application form.

Applicants are also required to state in a short narrative their future research goals and interests.

The current applicant pool roughly includes about 50 inquiries per year resulting in approximately 25-30 received applications per year. Pending current research funding we typically choose 10-15 of the applicants for interviews and choose the top 4-6 fellows per year from this pool.

Review and selection

Only eligible (as defined by the Program Guideline for Institutional Research Training Grants) and complete applications are evaluated by the Program Committee. The main criteria for further selection include the applicant’s eligibility (as determined by NIH guidelines) and whether or not the applicant’s interest and background fits reasonably within the scientific areas of interest of the CSB and the description of this Training Program. Applicants with the highest academic qualifications, especially those with prior productive research experience, are selected for personal interviews (usually the top 50% of the applicants). The review criteria include:

• Level of training, experience and competence.
• Past and present research productivity including
  contributions to the scientific literature.
• Qualities of the applicant to work in an interactive setting and be able to collaborate with other scientists (this will be judged in part by letters of references).
• Potential to become an outstanding scientist.
• PhD or MD board eligibility/certification in a medical specialty such as surgery, medicine, neurology, radiology etc.
• Commitment to a 2 year program depending on prior training.

Selection is based on ranking academic and personal qualifications of the candidate using a priority scoring system. Successful applicants need to state their intent to fulfill the NRSA payback provision. All applicants are notified of the ranking results within 4 weeks of the final meeting.

TG24

• Jasmine Carrothers, PhD
• Grant Simpson, PhD
• Megan Solans, PhD
• Sierra Walker, PhD

TG23

• Jasmine Carrothers, PhD
• Riddha Das, PhD
• Riley Deutsch, PhD
• Kelton Schleyer, PhD
• Grant Simpson, PhD
• Sierra Walker, PhD
• Peter Wang, PhD

TG22

• Riddha Das, PhD
• Riley Deutsch, PhD
• Andrew Jemas, PhD
• Mi Ho Jeong, PharmD
• Kilean Lucas, PhD
• Hannah Peterson, PhD
• Kelton Schleyer, PhD
• Peter Wang, PhD

TG21

• Riddha Das, PhD
• Alexander Ling, PhD
• Kilean Lucas, PhD
• Noor Momin, PhD
• Hannah Peterson, PhD
• Jeremy Quintana, PhD
• Kelton Schleyer, PhD
• Joshua Spitzberg, PhD

TG20

• Morteza Azizi, PhD
• Scott Ferguson, PhD
• Kate Krause, MD
• Alexander Ling, PhD
• Kilean Lucas, PhD
• Hannah Peterson, PhD
• Jeremy Quintana, PhD
• Joshua Spitzberg, PhD

TG19

• Maaz Ahmed, PhD
• Scott Ferguson, PhD
• Roxanne Glazier, PhD
• Peter Koch, PhD
• Angela Marquard, PhD
• Hannah Peterson, PhD
• Jeremy Quintana, PhD
• Joshua Spitzberg, PhD

TG18

• Maaz Ahmed, PhD
• Scott Ferguson, PhD
• Peter Koch, PhD
• Ran Li, PhD
• Hsing-Ying Lin, PhD
• Angela Marquard, PhD
• Samantha Miller Bevill, PhD
• Jouha Min, PhD

TG17

• Maaz Ahmed, PhD
• Sean Arlauckas, PhD
• Peter Koch, PhD
• Ran Li, PhD
• Angela Marquard, PhD
• Jouha Min, PhD
• Juhyun (Julie) Oh, PhD
• Kisoo Park, PhD
• Christopher Rodell, PhD

TG16

• Sean Arlauckas, PhD
• Kyle Fraser, PhD
• Seth Garren, PhD
• Kyungheon Lee, PhD
• Ran Li, PhD
• Hsin-Wei Liao, PhD
• Juhyun (Julie) Oh, PhD
• Kisoo Park, PhD
• Christopher Rodell, PhD

TG15

• Aaron Aguirre, MD, PhD
• Sean Arlauckas, PhD
• Michael Cuccarese, PhD
• Kyle Fraser, PhD
• Seth Garren, PhD
• Sangmoo Jeong, PhD
• Kyungheon Lee, PhD
• Angela Magnuson, PhD
• Fahmy Mamuya, PhD
• Juhyun (Julie) Oh, PhD
• Kisoo Park, PhD
• Yong Il Park, PhD

TG14

• Aaron Aguirre, MD, PhD
• Bjorn Askevold, PhD
• Hyun Jung Chung, PhD
• Susan Clardy, PhD
• Michael Cuccarese, PhD
• John Dubach, PhD
• Hyungsoon Im, PhD
• Sangmoo Jeong, PhD
• Kevin King, MD, PhD
• Rachel Liberman, PhD
• Angela Magnuson, PhD
• Labros Meimetis, PhD
• Miles Miller, PhD
• Kisoo Park, PhD
• Yong Il Park, PhD
• Melissa Sprachman, PhD
• Katherine Yang, PhD

TG13

• Bjorn Askevold, PhD
• Hyun Jung Chung, PhD
• Susan Clardy, PhD
• Michael Cuccarese, PhD
• John Dubach, PhD
• Partha Ghosh, PhD
• Randy Giedt, PhD
• Linh Ha, PhD
• Hyungsoon Im, PhD
• Sangmoo Jeong, PhD
• Kevin King, MD, PhD
• Kyungheon Lee, PhD
• Rachel Liberman, PhD
• Maulik Majmudar, MD
• Vladimir Marshansky, MD, PhD
• Miles Miller, PhD
• Anilkumar Nair, PhD
• Yong Il Park, PhD
• Melissa Sprachman, PhD
• Katherine Yang, PhD

TG12

• Bjorn Askevold, PhD
• Hyun Jung Chung, PhD
• Susan Clardy, PhD
• Virna Cortez-Retamozo, PhD
• John Dubach, PhD
• Partha Ghosh, PhD
• Randy Giedt, PhD
• Ashley Laughney, PhD
• Kyungheon Lee, PhD
• Maulik Majmudar, MD
• Vladimir Marshansky, MD, PhD
• Miles Miller, PhD
• Anilkumar Nair, PhD
• Melissa Sprachman, PhD
• Pauline Tan, PhD
• Katherine Yang, PhD
• Jeongsoo Yoo, PhD

TG11

• Sarit Agasti, PhD
• Hyun Jung Chung, PhD
• Virna Cortez-Retamozo, PhD
• Sarah Earley, PhD
• Yvonne Fisher-Jeffes, PhD
• Randy Giedt, PhD
• Adam Hendricks, PhD
• David Issadore, PhD
• Ashley Laughney, PhD
• Maulik Majmudar, MD
• Melina Pectasides, MD
• Pauline Tan, PhD
• Takuya Ueno, MD, PhD
• Adeeti Ullal, PhD
• Katherine Yang, PhD
• Jeongsoo Yoo, PhD

TG10

• Sarit Agasti, PhD
• Virna Cortez-Retamozo, PhD
• Sarah Earley, PhD
• Yvonne Fisher-Jeffes, PhD
• Adam Hendricks, PhD
• John Higgins, MD
• David Issadore, PhD
• Monty Liong, PhD
• Ralph Mazitschek, PhD
• Christopher Salthouse, PhD
• Greg Thurber, PhD
• Takuya Ueno, MD, PhD
• Adeeti Ullal, PhD
• Claudio Vinegoni, PhD
• Katherine Yang, PhD

TG09

• Jayeeta Bhaumik, PhD
• Virna Cortez-Retamozo, PhD
• Sarah Earley, PhD
• Jered Haun, PhD
• Adam Hendricks, PhD
• David Issadore, PhD
• Hakho Lee, PhD
• Monty Liong, PhD
• Ralph Mazitschek, PhD
• Christopher Salthouse, PhD
• Carlos Tassa, PhD
• Greg Thurber, PhD
• Tae-Jong Yoon, PhD

TG08

• Cedric Berger, PhD
• Jayeeta Bhaumik, PhD
• David Blodgett, PhD
• Virna Cortez-Retamozo, PhD
• Neal Devaraj, PhD
• Melissa Grachan, PhD
• Jered Haun, PhD
• Edmund Keliher, PhD
• Jason McCarthy, PhD
• Peter Panizzi, PhD
• Cory Siegel, MD
• Filip Swirski, PhD
• Greg Thurber, PhD
• Tae-Jong Yoon, PhD

TG07

• Elena Aikawa, MD, PhD
• Cedric Berger, PhD
• David Blodgett, PhD
• Joseph Blois, PhD
• Virna Cortez-Retamozo, PhD
• Neal Devaraj, PhD
• Edmund Keliher, PhD
• Ethan Korngold, MD
• Jason McCarthy, PhD
• Matthias Nahrendorf, MD, PhD
• Ashvin Pande, MD
• Peter Panizzi, PhD
• Ralph (Adam) Smith, PhD
• Filip Swirski, PhD

TG06

• Elena Aikawa, MD, PhD
• Jonathan Carson, PhD
• John Chen, MD, PhD
• Virna Cortez-Retamozo, PhD
• Shawn Hingtgen, PhD
• Ethan Korngold, MD
• Kenneth Kozloff, PhD
• Matthias Nahrendorf, MD, PhD
• Ashvin Pande, MD
• Peter Panizzi, PhD
• Joel Stein, MD, PhD
• Eric (Yi) Sun, PhD
• Carlos Tassa, PhD

TG05

• John Chen, MD, PhD
• Alex Guimaraes, MD, PhD
• Scott Hilderbrand, PhD
• Shawn Hingtgen, PhD
• Kimberly Kelly, PhD
• Kenneth Kozloff, PhD
• Jason McCarthy, PhD
• James Spotts, PhD
• Carlos Tassa, PhD

TG04

• Jan Grimm, MD, PhD
• Alex Guimaraes, MD, PhD
• Mukesh Harisinghani, MD
• Kimberly Kelly, PhD
• Raymond King, PhD
• James Spotts, PhD
• Andrew Tsourkas, PhD

TG03

• Miguel Esteves, PhD
• Edward Elliott Graves, PhD
• Kimberly Kelly, PhD
• Khashayarsha Khazaie, PhD
• Raymond King, PhD
• Terry OLoughlin, MD, PhD
• Andrew Tsourkas, PhD

TG02

• Miguel Esteves, PhD
• Edward Elliott Graves, PhD
• Khashayarsha Khazaie, PhD
• Terry OLoughlin, MD, PhD
• Yoshi Saeki, MD
• Dawid Shellingerhout, MD
• Ming Zhao, PhD

TG01

• Jennifer R Allport, PhD
• Holly Holman, PhD
• Yuhui Lin, PhD
• Umar Mahmood, MD, PhD
• Wellington Pham, PhD
• Yoshi Saeki, MD
• Ming Zhao, PhD

TG00

• Umar Mahmood, MD, PhD