Pediatric Oncology Education at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
The following is an announcement from Dr. Suzanne Gronemeyer, the Associate Director of Academic Programs
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN.
We invite your best students to apply for our NIH/NCI-funded (5 R25CA023944) Pediatric Oncology Education (POE) Program <http://www.stjude.org/poe>. The program offers a unique opportunity for students preparing for careers in the biomedical sciences, medicine, and pharmacy to gain biomedical and oncology research experience. Students participate in basic or clinical oncology research, research and clinical conferences, and a core lecture series designed specifically for them. All participants make a PowerPoint presentation on their research project and submit a report on their research project written in the style of a journal in which their mentor publishes.
A primary goal of the POE program is to encourage students to pursue a career in cancer research, either as a laboratory-based scientist or a clinician scientist. Thus, highly qualified students with an interest in cancer research are particularly encouraged to apply.
The POE 2010 class average undergraduate GPA was 3.825. In 2010, 51 students from 42 schools in 18 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico were selected from 460 applicants. POEs must be United States citizens, non-citizen nationals, or possess a visa permitting permanent residence in the United States (required by the funding agency). All must have completed at least their college sophomore year by the time they participate. Sophomores without relevant research experience will not be competitive applicants for our program. While not required, prior research experience is a strong advantage for all applicants. Medical students spend a minimum of 9 weeks in the program. The minimum tenure requirement for all others is 11 weeks (10 weeks for returning students). All POE applicants must have an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.40 (on a 4.0 scale) in math and science (biology, chemistry, and physics) and at least a 3.40 overall. The stipend is $4,000. Fully furnished group housing adjacent to our campus is provided at no cost for non- local students.
The POE home page <http://www.stjude.org/poe> contains links to the program application, which must be submitted online. The deadline for receipt of all 2011 application materials is February 1, 2011. Early application is highly recommended. Members of under-represented ethnic minority groups and women are particularly encouraged to apply, since one of our major long-term program goals is to increase the diversity of persons engaged in oncology research and practice. Our NIH/NCI-funded (2 P30CA021765-32S1) Continuing Umbrella of Research Experiences (CURE) grant provides stipends for additional undergraduate under-represented minority POE Program participants.
Suzanne Gronemeyer, PhD
Director, Pediatric Oncology Education (POE) Program
Associate Director, Academic Programs
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
262 Danny Thomas Place, Mail Stop 0304
Memphis, TN 38105-3678
