Training Grant in Cancer Prevention and Control in Priority Populations

The overarching goal of the Cancer Prevention and Control (CPC) in Priority Populations postdoctoral research training program is to launch the careers of a new generation of clinical and non-clinical researchers who are prepared to apply a multidisciplinary approach to CPC research targeting priority populations. The program aims to recruit candidates who show promise as future CPC investigators; provide outstanding mentorship; foster a multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary team science environment; and facilitate the attainment of academic career and life skills needed to pursue and sustain long-term success as independent investigators.

We offer a two-year post-doctoral Research Fellowship in Cancer Prevention and Control with a focus on priority populations who are disproportionately vulnerable to develop and/or suffer from cancer. Ideal candidates are physicians who have completed an accredited clinical residency or graduates of PhD or equivalent programs in relevant fields (e.g., clinical psychology, epidemiology, health psychology, anthropology). All fellows will conduct mentored research and will be eligible to earn a Master of Science in Clinical Research (MSCR) through completion of a tailored curriculum integrating biological, medical, psychological, epidemiologic, behavioral, and community perspectives in cancer prevention and control. Stipend and tuition are provided along with an allowance for travel and research expenses. We seek applicants with a commitment to our program's aims who have aspirations for an academic research career.

The CPC Research Training Program includes over 25 faculty researchers and numerous students and research staff. Research foci include cancer prevention and screening, health disparities, comparative effectiveness, behavioral and health psychology, genetics, cancer education, molecular epidemiology, symptom control, palliative care, and more. This fellowship is being offered jointly through the Division of General Internal Medicine and the Tisch Cancer Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

The program’s goals are to: 1) Provide a tailored curriculum integrating biological, medical, epidemiologic, behavioral, and community perspectives in CPC research in priority populations; 2) Promote interdisciplinary approaches to CPC research; and 3) Foster multidisciplinary research careers in CPC among trainees through mentored research. Read more about our curriculum.

The core mentoring faculty is multidisciplinary, including experts in cancer prevention and screening, health disparities, comparative effectiveness, behavioral psychology, genetics, molecular epidemiology, and palliative care. Read about our mentors. 

This is a non-ACGME program.

We accept applications in a rolling fashion in the fall-winter preceding the fellowship start date (July 1 of each year). To apply, submit the following here: 

  1. A cover letter describing yourself and your interests in the CPC post-doctoral fellowship training; 
  2. Your curriculum vitae; 
  3. Information about your citizenship and/or visa status. 

Three letters of recommendation will be required after the initial screening process, though these can be sent initially if desired. Letters of recommendation should be from faculty members who are familiar with the applicant's qualifications. One of these letters must be from the director of the current or most recent clinical training program. 

Please direct all inquiries to: 

Megan McVeety
Program Coordinator
Division of General Internal Medicine
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Tel: 732-865-0067
Fax: 212-824-2317

Minority Applicants 
We encourage members of underrepresented minority groups to apply. Many research projects conducted by the faculty focus on the care of minority or underserved populations.

Second year:

Amanda Leiter, MD, MS is a clinical faculty member and research fellow in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Bone Disease. She received her MD and MS in Clinical Research from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She then completed an internal medicine residency and clinical endocrinology fellowship at Mount Sinai Hospital. Her research interests relate to the intersection of metabolic disease and cancer—specifically focused on how metabolic disease impacts cancer outcomes and vice versa, and how cancer diagnosis and treatments impact metabolic diseases.

Melissa Mazor, RN, MS, PhD is an Instructor in the Division of General Internal Medicine. Prior to joining the faculty at Mount Sinai, she was a postdoctoral fellow at NYU and the VA Quality Scholar Program in the UCSF Division of Geriatrics. Melissa received her PhD and MS in nursing from University of California, San Francisco and BA in psychology from the University of California, Berkeley. Her research investigates cancer survivorship outcomes in vulnerable populations. She is particularly interested in developing and implementing culturally sensitive, community-based interventions to mitigate distress, symptom burden, and survivorship outcomes in underserved Black, Latinx, and Asian American cancer survivors.

First year:

Megan C. Edmonds, PhD, MPH is a behavioral health scientist. Her research is focused on reducing racial disparities in breast cancer survivorship and community planning. She received her PhD in Behavioral and Social Sciences from Virginia Commonwealth University, MPH from the University of Michigan with a concentration in Health Behavior and Health Education and a BA in Psychology from Spelman College. Megan utilizes mixed methodology approaches to assess breast cancer disparities to improve cancer survivorship outcomes (e.g., surveillance care) in Black and underserved women.

Christina Wang, MD is a chief fellow in the Dr. Henry D. Janowitz Division of Gastroenterology. She received her BA in Biological Sciences with a concentration in Molecular and Cell Biology at Cornell University. She then completed her MD from New York Medical College and internal medicine residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center prior to her fellowship training at Mount Sinai. She is currently investigating disparities in colon cancer incidence and survivorship in Asian Americans, with the ultimate goal of investigating and reducing colon cancer screening disparities among this population.

Suzanne Vang, PhD is a former T32 Fellow at the Center for Behavioral Oncology in the Department of Population Health Science and Policy at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She received her Ph.D. in Social Work from Columbia University. Her research focuses on investigating and addressing cancer screening disparities in medically underserved populations, particularly in Asian Pacific Islanders, Latinas, and African Americans. Dr. Vang was awarded a Postdoctoral Fellowship from the American Cancer Society to develop and pilot test culturally- and linguistically-tailored decision aids to improve breast density care for Latina women with high breast density.

Deborah Marshall, MD, MSCR is a former T32 and Holman Pathway research fellow at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.  After graduating from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in comparative ethnic studies and working in immigration law, Dr. Marshall pursued her medical training and a MS in Clinical Research at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. She then completed her transitional year internship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and residency in radiation oncology at Mount Sinai. As a research fellow, she led a multidisciplinary team studying female sexual toxicity after pelvic radiotherapy supported by grants from the Patty Brisben Foundation, NRG Oncology, and the Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO.  Her clinical scientific research focuses on clinical and population-based radiation toxicity outcomes in priority populations including women and persons with HIV. Her social scientific research focuses on financial conflicts of interest in medicine and health policy. Dr. Marshall is currently Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Icahn School of Medicine.

Stacyann Bailey, PhD is a former T32 fellow who earned her PhD in biomedical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and completed her undergraduate studies at the City College of New York. Dr. Bailey is trained in the assessment of bone matrix quality and mechanical properties, which degrades with aging and diseases. Her research interest lies in the development of new strategies to predict, manage, and mitigate pathological fractures in cancer patients. As a research fellow, she investigated the clinical and pathological characteristics associated with knowledge and perceived risk of osteoporosis and adherence to behaviors that promote bone health in older breast cancer patients. Currently, Dr. Bailey is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at UMass Amherst.

Former trainees have gone on to pursue academic research careers. Our alumni have a strong record of publications and have received research career development awards and independent research grants from the NIH, American Cancer Society, American Society of Clinical Oncology, and more.