Mentored Research Training

As a trainee, you will receive mentored training to:

• Complete didactic and research training
• Develop your own independent projects and career plans
• Participate as an active member of a research team on projects related to cancer prevention and control
• Contribute to grant applications, ongoing project management, data collection efforts, analyses of study data and writing groups
• Learn grant writing skills
• Prepare and submit manuscripts to peer-reviewed journals and give presentations about research findings
• Participate in a weekly seminar with other trainees, faculty and guest speakers

With guidance from experienced mentors, trainees will conduct novel, pragmatic research that seeks to promote evidence-based practice along the cancer continuum, spotlighting interventions and implementation strategies that promote health equity in a variety of clinical and community settings.

Team Mentoring Approach

Trainees will engage in mentored research training throughout their time in the program.  Training placements may be conducted in collaboration with a partnering clinical or community site. 

Our faculty mentors are leaders in health equity and low resource settings, population health sciences, health behavior change, Implementation Science, health informatics, systems change and health policy, health communications, and prevention and intervention research. Mentors are drawn from several UMass Chan departments and centers including: 

• Population and Quantitative Health Sciences 
• UMass Chan Prevention Research Center
• Center for Tobacco Treatment Research and Training
• UMass Cancer Center of Excellence
• UMass Center for Clinical and Translational Science
• NCI P50 award, IDAPT: Implementation and informatics
• the new Health Equity Collaboratory

Mentors also may be drawn from our partnering research institutions including

• UMass Chan-Baystate: Institute for Healthcare Delivery and Population Research
• UMass Boston: College  of  Nursing  and Health Sciences
• Worcester Polytechnic Institute: Healthcare Delivery Institute
• CHOIR: the VHA Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research

Research in Real-World Settings: Trainees will conduct research in real-world settings via mentored opportunities. We additionally emphasize stakeholder engaged research. Our faculty bring robust partnerships with clinical and community organizations that provide ample opportunity for conducting collaborative research. Established research, practice and education affiliations with UMass Memorial Health Care, Baystate Health, the VHA affiliated facilities of Bedford and Boston, as well as numerous public health and community organizations throughout MA provide settings that serve diverse and under-served clients in which trainees can conduct partnered research projects.

Pilot Projects

Each postdoctoral trainee will be provided with funding to conduct a research study of their own. The goal of this pilot work is to provide foundation and support for an emerging trajectory of  independent research in cancer prevention and control. Research topics will address important gaps in the scientific knowledge base, represent trainee areas of interest, and be recognized as a priority area for the partnering organization. Appropriate types of pilot projects include small-scale implementation trials, evaluation of ongoing practice-based initiatives and formative research.