The Career Development Program will utilize dedicated funds to prepare postdoctoral fellows or junior faculty for careers in translational lung cancer research. In addition, in well-justified selected cases, senior investigators who are already established in another area of research will be eligible in another area of research will be eligible for support to re-direct their research focus to lung cancer. The Career Development Selection Committee members represent a broad array of lung cancer-related disciplines including Medical Oncology, Surgical Oncology, Radiology, Thoracic Surgery, Radiation Oncology, Pathology, Pulmonary Medicine, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics. Committee members have extensive experience in mentoring trainees at all levels. Selection of Postdoctoral Fellows: Fellowship applications will be accepted from M.D. or Ph.D. post-doctoral trainees to work with a senior mentor. The fellow applicants will be required to submit a five-page research proposal and biosketch to the committee. The application will require a statement of career plans by the applicant as well as three letters of recommendation. One of these letters will be written by the primary mentor. The criteria for selection of fellows will be: 1) Quality of the scientific proposal, 2) The fellow's potential for an independent lung cancer research career, 3) Potential impact of the research on the field of lung cancer and, 4) Relevance to the overall translational research mission of the lung cancer SPORE program. Selection of junior faculty: The selection criteria noted above will also apply for the selection of junior faculty. In addition, the junior faculty applicant's department will be required to submit a letter of support delineating the commitment the commitment and support for the candidate. The process for selecting candidates for this program: An announcement will e made to all cancer center members two times per year. Distribution will also be directed to all graduate departments, training grant directors and clinical department chairs. The program will place special emphasis on recruitment of qualified women and minorities. The prospective mentor pool will be comprised of all of the senior SPORE investigators. In addition to the primary mentor, each postdoctoral or junior faculty trainee will be assigned an advisory committee. The advisory committee will consist of at least two additional mentors who will be meeting regulatory with the trainee to review work in progress. The overall purpose of this program will be to train well- qualified investigators in translational lung cancer research in a highly structured, academic setting.
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