Minority Mentorship and Training Program

The LUNGevity Minority Mentorship and Training Program will increase diversity in thoracic oncology by offering minority researchers and clinicians the support and training they need to thrive in their careers.

Providing mentorship and career support for minority researchers and clinicians is vital to creating a workforce that reflects the diversity of the patient population.

The LUNGevity Minority Mentorship and Training Program (MMATP) trains researchers from underrepresented minorities in grant writing, provides professional career development, and exposes them to alternative career paths outside academia. It includes a supportive wraparound mentorship program with established oncology leaders and LUNGevity’s Director of STEM Workforce Initiatives.

Goals of the Program

LUNGevity created the MMATP to increase diversity in thoracic oncology. The two-year program is a complementary component to our Health Equity and Inclusiveness Research Fellow and Junior Investigator Awards. The purpose is to ensure that minority clinician-scientists and PhDs have the technical and professional skills, mentoring, and support to overcome the many visible and invisible barriers they will face. Through mentoring and support, we seek to develop a workforce that reflects the communities with the highest incidence and mortality rates and increases survival.

The goals of the program are to:

  • Provide thorough and rigorous training in lung cancer/thoracic oncology (including biostatistics, health services research, and clinical trial design) 
  • Train scholars in grant writing, grant review, and submission of an NIH-style grant (or other agency) within 1.5 years of starting the program
  • Provide professional development, career, life, and personal skills to prepare participants for life after training is completed
  • Expose trainees to alternative career paths to ensure they are aware of how to transition if they leave academia
  • Provide multiple layers of external mentorship to mitigate dependence on one principal investigator 
  • Facilitate networking and professional development 

Participants

The Minority Mentorship and Training Program is specifically for recipients of our Health Equity and Inclusiveness Junior Investigator Award and Health Equity and Inclusiveness Research Fellow Award. Those who submit a research proposal for one of these two grant programs, and are selected for funding, are enrolled in the mentorship program.

Learn about applying for the Health Equity and Inclusiveness Research Fellow Award or the Health Equity and Inclusiveness Junior Investigator Award.

Faculty

Meet some of the esteemed faculty members of the LUNGevity MMATP:

  • Melinda Aldrich, PhD, MPH, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
  • Leah Backhus, MD, MPH, Stanford University
  • Lisa Carter-Bawa, PhD, APRN, ANP-C, FAAN, Hackensack Meridian Health Center for Discovery & Innovation
  • Suzanne Dahlberg, PhD, Boston Children’s Hospital
  • James E. Darden, JD, Financial Guide LLC
  • Loretta Erhunmwunsee, MD, FACS, City of Hope
  • Rohan Jeremiah, PhD, MPH, University of Illinois - Chicago
  • Yamilé Molina, PhD, MPH, University of Illinois - Chicago
  • Dominique Pritchett, PhD, Howard University
  • Estelamari Rodriguez, MD, MPH, University of Miami
  • Angela Seliga, PhD, Boston University
  • Shailesh Singh, PhD, Morehouse School of Medicine
  • Charles Thomas, Jr, MD, Dartmouth Cancer Center
  • Jeffrey Velotta, MD, Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center
  • Jennie Williams, PhD, Stony Brook University Medical Center
  • Michael Yassa, PhD, University of California – Irvine

Training Components

The program includes both academic training in thoracic oncology and a personal and professional development component.

Thoracic Oncology Academic Training: Training in grant writing (including lung cancer/thoracic oncology, biostatistics, social science, and research methodologies) and grant review along with external mentorship, with the expectation that trainees will submit an NIH-style grant for funding within 1.5 years. 

Ancillary/Wraparound Training: Professional and career development training and personal development training. Examples of professional and career development training modules:

  • Implicit bias and racism: how to identify and mitigate minor and microaggressions
  • Learning how to be a mentor
  • Navigating tenure and promotion
  • Communication with non-scientific audiences

Examples of personal development training modules:

  • Financial navigation during your career
  • How to set realistic expectations (e.g., goals, work/life balance)

These skills are seldom taught to first-generation, minority, or underrepresented scholars.