Research Training

Fellows work with Program Leadership to identify research mentor(s) and a project by the end of their first year. In the second and third years, they receive 18 months of protected time (6 months in year two, 12 months in year three) to develop this work into the foundation of an investigative career.

Research opportunities span the Division, the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC), CUIMC, and the University, with options in laboratory-based, clinical/translational, and population sciences research in collaboration with the Mailman School of Public Health.The aim of research training is to prepare fellows for independent investigation.

Laboratory-focused fellows often work with HICCC faculty—over 200 investigators with expertise in cancer genetics and epigenetics, precision oncology, tumor biology, epidemiology, prevention, and health disparities—and have access to core resources including biostatistics, bioinformatics, microscopy, molecular pathology, animal imaging, proteomics, and genomics.

Fellows pursuing population science or care delivery research typically take coursework in epidemiology, trial design, and biostatistics at the Mailman School of Public Health. Those engaged in clinical investigation work with CUIMC investigators on therapeutic trials of novel targeted and biologic therapies, including cell-based treatments, often in partnership with industry to allow early access to new agents. These fellows also have opportunities to take course work related to clinical trial design and biostatistics at the Mailman School of Public Health.

Research at CUIMC is highly collaborative, with fellows joining multidisciplinary teams of clinicians, statisticians, and basic scientists to advance translational discoveries. Training is further supported by a grant-writing course in which fellows prepare a proposal modeled on the ASCO Young Investigator Award. The Division also encourages participation in national workshops, such as the ASCO/AACR Vail Workshop, and supports fellows to present their work at major meetings including ASCO, ASH, and AACR.