The ITERT Education and Training Core Platform

What is ITERT? 
ITERT is an advanced education and training (E&T) core platform housed at the Translational Molecular Pathology (TMP) department, at MD Anderson Cancer Center. ITERT stands for Interdisciplinary Translational Education and Research Training, and is a service dedicated to providing career stage-specific training in academic and related disciplines of translational oncology research.

Who does ITERT serve?

• Graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, research investigators, college‐and high‐school students, staff and junior faculty at MD Anderson
• Visiting medical students/fellows at TMP (international)
• Undergraduate summer students at MD Anderson (from across the United States)
• Trainees from across the Texas Medical Center

Service Goals:
Our goal is to ensure that our trainees and staff are best prepared to lead successful professional careers in academia and other related fields in translational cancer science. We aim to achieve this by trainee‐centered programming that includes leadership development, and evolves with continual improvement through assessment and feedback. Our programing is a three‐pronged approach uniquely geared to meet the diverse training needs of our students, fellows, and staff:

1) Research education
2) Career development
3) Supportive learning community

This three‐pronged training focus allows candidates an in‐depth research experience in translational cancer research, as well as tailored professional development opportunities, in an environment designed to foster a sense of community and make learning fun. At ITERT, we also promote the academic talents and leadership capabilities of junior faculty and staff. ITERT provides the foundational framework of education‐ and career‐support for extramural training grants at TMP, such as NCI-T32 and NCI-U24 and individual investigator NIH-R01s. 

The ITERT Model of E&T: ITERT is rooted in providing impactful mentorship, and a sense of community to our students, fellows and staff. The program currently supports ~100 trainees and staff (at various career stages) and aims to offer a strong platform for advanced scientific training required for careers in translational cancer science. At the heart of education and training at ITERT is the passionate commitment and service of TMP faculty, actively supported by the administrative staff.