Student Trainees “Picture Themselves as Scientists” at UMB/DF/HCC Scientific Symposium
Published 8/21/2024
On July 25th on the third floor of UMass Boston’s Campus center, students from training programs administered by Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, UMass Boston, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute gathered in UMBs sprawling conference facility to experience the feeling of a scientific symposium, coined “Education Day” by UMB and DF/HCC organizers, with a 2024 focus on Resiliency in STEM. This all-day scientific event was established through the U54 Partnerships to Advance Cancer Health Equity (PACHE) program’s Research Education Core. The day included keynote talks by leading researchers, panel discussions with cancer survivors, and a choice of multiple professional development workshops to encourage continuous learning ranging from navigating Imposter Syndrome, the decision to pursue a PhD or an MD, and wellness topics specific to researchers.
"You’re quite sophisticated; great question,” said Irene Ghobrial, MD in response to a question about immunotherapy and biological mechanisms that could have just as easily come from a seasoned clinician researcher in a white lab coat versus the young woman who herself is experiencing a research lab over the summer as part of the CURE Program. Later in that same talk, as if directly highlighting the cycle of awareness leading to participation leading to equity that the CURE program is all about, Dr. Ghobrial could be heard saying, “a lot of the clinical trial participants in our established research are white, and that is a problem.”
In an academic science stronghold like Massachusetts where one must simply be able to “picture themselves as a scientist” to take the first step to pursue that career, UMass Boston’s Research Education Core (REC), Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center’s Initiative to Eliminate Cancer Disparities, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s Workforce Development team have created a dream summer for the future workforce working in cancer.
