In 2021, the Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Physician Scholars Program was established at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) to support promising early-career physician-scientists who have significant insights into cancer and have formulated novel approaches to prevention and treatment.
This highly selective program was launched to meet the demand for top-tier basic or translational researchers within the field of oncology. Through the generosity of Mr. Gerstner, the program provides recipients with up to three years of funding, which would otherwise be difficult to obtain early on in their careers.
Program Eligibility Requirements
The Gerstner Physician Scholars Program is open to early-career, laboratory-based physician-scientists studying at or employed by MSK. Eligible applicants include senior graduate medical education fellows and junior faculty within the first three years of an initial Memorial Hospital appointment.
Applicants must demonstrate a high level of commitment to a long-term career in academic laboratory cancer research. They should be aiming to establish an independent wet or computational research laboratory advancing basic biological or translational research. While applicants may also have an interest in clinical research, these studies should be the result of ideas generated in their own laboratories or through collaborations with independent clinical investigators.
We welcome applicants from a wide range of specialties, including medical oncology, surgical oncology, gynecologic oncology, radiology, radiation oncology, pathology, neurology, pediatric oncology, and infectious diseases.
Program Application and Deadlines
This program is only open to MSK physician-scientists. For more details about the Gerstner Physician Scholars Program, please consult the application, which is available on MSK’s intranet.
Applications are now closed. Please check back in November 2024 for more information.
For questions about the application process, please email the program manager: [email protected].
2024 Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Physician Scholars
Department: Medicine
Current Position: Instructor, Gynecologic Medical Oncology Service
Mentors: Scott Lowe, PhD, and Sohrab Shah, PhD
Project Title: Interrogating the mechanisms of chromosomal instability (CIN) induced oncogene activation in ovarian cancer development
Department: Medicine
Current Position: Instructor, Genitourinary Oncology Service
Mentors: Ming Li, PhD, and Dana Pe’er, PhD
Project Title: Immunotherapeutic targeting of tissue-resident innate lymphocytes for renal cell carcinoma
Department: Medicine
Current Position: Fellow, Hematology/Medical Oncology
Mentor: Christopher Klebanoff, MD
Project Title: Immunologic targeting of undruggable TP53 hotspot mutations though T cell receptor gene therapy
Department: Medicine
Current Position: Instructor, Adult Bone Marrow Transplant Service
Mentor: Roni Shouval, MD, PhD, Benjamin Greenbaum, PhD, and Miguel-Angel Perales, MD
Project Title: Deciphering interactions between host and tumor in CAR T cell therapy
2023 Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Physician Scholars
Department: Pathology and Lab Medicine
Current Position: Assistant Attending Physician, Hematopathology Service
Mentors: Marcel van den Brink, MD, PhD and Ahmet Dogan, MD, PhD
Project Title: Characterization of neural and neuroepithelial niches and their role in the regeneration of the thymus after acute and chronic injury
Sarah Eskreis-Winkler, MD, PhD
Department: Radiology
Current Position: Assistant Attending Physician, Breast Imaging Service
Mentor: Sohrab Shah, PhD
Project Title: Understanding and Eliminating Bias in Breast Imaging Artificial Intelligence Algorithms: A Key Step Towards Equity in Outcome for Breast Cancer Patients in the 21st Century
Department: Medicine
Current Position: Assistant Attending Physician, Cellular Therapy Service
Mentor: Michael Sadelain, MD, PhD
Project Title: Overcoming Resistance to CAR T Cells for Multiple Myeloma Using Novel Synthetic Receptors
2022 Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Physician Scholars
Department: Medicine
Current Position: Assistant Attending Physician, Leukemia Service, Memorial Hospital
Laboratory Mentor: Marcel van den Brink
Project Title: Harnessing endogenous T cell immunity in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia
Morgan Freret, MD, PhD
Department: Radiation Oncology
Current Position: Instructor
Laboratory Mentor: Adrienne Boire
Project Title: Choroid plexus and the cancer stem cell niche in leptomeningeal metastasis
Department: Medicine
Current Position: Assistant Attending Physician, Gynecology Medical Oncology Service, Memorial Hospital
Laboratory Mentor: Jeffrey V. Ravetch (The Rockefeller University)
Project Title: Role of Fc receptors in the therapeutic activity of antibodies targeting the CD47-SIRP-alpha axis
Department: Medicine
Current Position: Assistant Attending Physician, Genitourinary Service, Memorial Hospital
Laboratory Mentor: Charles Sawyers
Project Title: Reversion of lineage plasticity and restoration of drug sensitivity in prostate cancer: role of Janus kinase (JAK) and fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR)