Barbara Wilson Gomez Endowed Fellowship in Thoracic Oncology

Introduction

The Barbara Wilson Gomez Endowed Fellowship in Thoracic Oncology is designed to provide comprehensive clinical and investigative training in the care and management of patients with lung cancer for individuals planning a career in applied oncology research in an academic setting. This Advanced Fellowship offers to outstanding junior oncologists exposure to state-of-the-art lung cancer care, clinical trials, and translational research within the Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center and Harvard Medical School network. On completion of this 2-year fellowship, Advanced Fellows will receive a certificate from Dana-Farber Brigham and will have developed relationships with an international network of lung cancer research collaborators.

Eligibility

Candidates for the Barbara Wilson Gomez Endowed Fellowship in Thoracic Oncology must have:

• Completed training in Medical Oncology (minimum 2 years) or Hematology/Oncology (minimum 3 years) and be eligible for a limited or permanent medical license from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. A limited US medical license is preferred for this fellowship; however, the department can help the Advanced Fellow obtain a limited license.
• Developed an interest in lung cancer during oncology training.
• Physicians applying for an initial full license will be required to pass USMLE Step 1, 2 and 3; FLEX Components 1 and 2; NMBE parts I, II, and III; or all parts of MCCQE. Applicants to this fellowship must have completed or be in the process of undertaking Licensing Examinations.
• A full license is not required for this fellowship, however in order to be eligible for a full license, international medical graduates must complete three years of postgraduate training in an ACGME accredited or AOA approved or accredited Canadian program. In the case of a subspecialty clinical fellowship program such as this Advanced Fellowship, post-graduate training in a hospital that has an ACGME accredited, or AOA approved or accredited Canadian program in the parent specialty may be acceptable.

Preference will be given to candidates with:

• Experience in clinical and/or laboratory research
• Partial funding from scholarships
• Proficiency in English

Job Description

The Advanced Fellowship will have both research and clinical components.

Research (80%)

• The Advanced Fellow, in conjunction with a research mentor, will select a longitudinal research project. Possible projects include clinical trial development and oversight, analysis of large clinical databases, or pursuing a translational project in a research laboratory.
• It is expected that after two years of work:
  • Original research data will be available for presentation at a local or national conference.
  • The Fellow will attend weekly thoracic oncology research meetings and will present research design and progress at least 1 - 2 times a year.
  • The Fellow will have authored 1 - 2 manuscripts (original research and/or review article).
  • The Fellow will have participated in grant submissions.

Clinical (20%)

• The Advanced Fellow will spend one day a week in the ambulatory thoracic oncology clinic seeing new and follow-up patients with attending faculty and building a continuity clinic of patients to be followed throughout their treatment. The Fellow will also attend weekly multi-disciplinary tumor board meetings.

Educational opportunities for the Fellow may include:

• Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center Clinical Investigator's Course (weekly 2-hour seminar over 9 months, overseen by Harold Burstein, MD, PhD).
• Harvard School of Public Health Clinical Effectiveness Course (6 weeks in Summer).
• Methods in Clinical Cancer Research (MCCR) course offered through the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).

Salary and Fringe Benefits

• Year 1 Advanced Fellows will be paid as PGY6 and Advanced Fellows in Year 2 will be paid as PGY7
• Subsidized health insurance
• Two annual conferences per annum
• Four weeks annual leave

Application, Selection Process, and Timelines

• Fellowship will be advertised internationally
• Rolling application deadline
• Requirements
  1. Completion of application with the following headings (do not exceed 3 pages):
     • Training, prior clinical and research experiences
     • Career interest and goals
     • Reasons for pursuing fellowship
     • Interests that applicant would want to pursue
  2. Curriculum Vitae
  3. Three letters of recommendation, to be attached with the above
• Within three months: Notification of selection
• Advanced Fellowship start date upon acceptance is flexible but will generally be January 1 or July 1 each year
• Commencement of Fellowship