The Janice Davis Gordon Memorial Postdoctoral Fellowship in Colorectal Cancer Prevention

The application will open soon. The dates below are subject to change. Please join our listserv to receive the fellowship announcement.

• Applicants must have already earned or be within 5 months of earning a doctoral degree in health science or related disciplines by the application deadline.
• May be from backgrounds in the basic biomedical sciences, medicine, biomedical statistics, epidemiology, behavioral and social sciences, nursing and related public health disciplines.
• Proposed research project must be related to colorectal cancer prevention.
• This fellowship is available without regard to the applicant’s U.S. citizenship status (i.e., Open to U.S. Citizens, Permanent Residents, and Visa Holders).

The Janice Davis Gordon Memorial Fellowship in Colorectal Cancer Prevention Research is funded for up to two years, renewed annually pending research progress and availability of funds.

Our program pays the postdoctoral salaries per the National Institutes of Health (NIH) - Postdoctoral Fellow Stipend Policy and the salary ranges are adjusted annually by the NIH. As of 2023, the Gordon Memorial fund will cover 85% of the salary + fringe, and the mentor or mentor's Department Chair will cover 15%. After the first appointment year, the salary may be subject to a one-time raise if approved by the CPRTP Director and mentor. Fringe benefits include health insurance, paid institutional holidays, and annual and sick leave. 

This fellowship does not provide additional research support for tuition, reference books, meeting registration, travel support, and research costs. Awardees of the Janice Davis Gordon Memorial Postdoctoral Fellowship in Colorectal Cancer Prevention must consult their mentors for additional research support.  

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

1. Use the link in the box located at the top of this web page to start an application in the Slate system. The application process consists of four parts: 1) Student Inquiry Form, 2) Slate account creation, 3) Slate application., and 4) Unofficial transcript emailed to the review committee.

2. Application Disclosures. After clicking the application link at the top of this web page to begin your application, scroll to the top of the page to read the following three (3) sections before completing the Inquiry Form: 1) Please Read Before You Apply, 2) Additional Documents Required If Selected As A Final Candidate, and 3) Onboarding Contingencies That Require Early Action. 

NOTE: The Additional Documents Required If Selected... section includes a statement regarding 'Immigration Documents' as this CPRTP Janice Davis Gordon Memorial Fellowship in Colorectal Cancer Prevention is open to U.S. Citizens, Permanent Residents, and Visa holders. 

3. Complete the Inquiry Form and upload the required documents:

3.1 Personal Information (e.g., name, demographics, personal email). 

3.2 List the names and emails addresses of two individuals who will provide you with professional recommendations (i.e., letters of recommendation). Please inform the referees in advance that they will be invited to upload their letters directly into the application portal in step 5 below.   

3.3 Upload Resume/CV.

3.4 Provide your ORCID ID and eRA Commons ID. Register for an ORCID ID.

3.5 Provide a Statement of Research Experience and Interest (i.e., personal statement). It is recommended that you draft this statement in Word or another word processing software, using the Word count feature to ensure that you do not exceed the 700-word limit. You can then copy and paste the text into the form field.  Please address the following three (3) areas within your statement of interest:

1) Your research interests, experience, and future goals in cancer and obesity research.

2) Your reasons for seeking research training from this program. Please include any life experiences or motivating factors related to your career interest.

3) How the fellowship will contribute to your future career plans in cancer and obesity research.

3.8 Please provide at least one and up to five of the most relevant and impactful manuscripts that have already been published. For each publication, you will be required to enter: 1) authorship position, 2) publication type, 3) journal name, 4) publication title, 5) publication date, and 6) upload a pdf version of the publication. At least one publication is required to apply for a postdoctoral fellowship position.

3.9 Double-check all aforementioned items before clicking the SUBMIT button. The Slate system will not accept revised documents. 

4. Create your Slate Account. After clicking the SUBMIT button, you will receive an email from MD Anderson Education & Training (trainee@mdanderson.org), subject line: "Complete your Trainee Position Inquiry Request". Follow the instructions and click the hyperlink in the email to create a Slate account and request your letters of recommendation.

5. Complete the Application:

5.1 Read the Application Instructions in the Slate system. 

5.2 Two (2) Letters of Recommendation:  In the Recommendations screen, enter the contact information for both individuals who will write your letters of recommendation. Ideally, recommenders should be professors or faculty mentors who know you well. Candidates are encouraged to work with references to ensure that letters are: 1) on institutional letterhead, 2) signed, and 3) recently dated. Note: Please ignore any text in the SLATE system specifying that MD Anderson faculty cannot write letters of recommendation---this is false and hopefully will be corrected soon. After the applicant enters the recommender's information in the Slate system, the recommender will receive an email notification from trainee@mdanderson.org, subject line "Recommendation Request from YOUR NAME for MD Anderson Cancer Center" and a link to upload the letter of recommendation to your account. You will receive an email when the letter has been successfully uploaded. 

5.3 Complete any additional forms (e.g., Additional Demographics and Future Plans, Academic Awards and Honors).

6. Email your last unofficial transcript of the qualifying degree to Apply@CancerPreventionTraining.org. This step is in addition to the upload of the proof of the qualifying degree in step 3.5 (above). Please add your first and last name in the subject line.

3.5 Upload a copy of the Diploma of the doctoral degree (certified translation if not in English). 3.6 (For graduating doctoral students) Provide proof of enrollment in a doctoral degree program AND a letter of recommendation from the doctoral committee chairperson/advisor stating the anticipated date of degree completion and confirming that the student is currently in good standing in the doctoral program and at the university. Proof of enrollment and committee chairperson letters are ONLY REQUIRED for applications from individuals who have not yet completed their doctoral degrees at the time of application submission.

Note: There is no submit button in the "Complete the Application" stage. To check the status of your application, log on to your Slate account and select 'Status' from the menu. Your application is complete when all sections are complete and both letters of recommendation have been uploaded to your account. 

Mentor Requirements

1. This program requires a minimum of two mentors with complementary research expertise in different disciplines. Use this list to identify participating faculty. Faculty listed are not obligated to serve as mentors and may not be available. 

2. At least one mentor must have a faculty appointment at the Assistant Professor level or higher within the Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences (DCPPS) at MD Anderson. Faculty conducting cancer prevention research are concentrated within the five (5) departments below.

Use the links below to search for additional faculty and call the MD Anderson switchboard at 1-800-889-2094, if there is no contact number listed. 

Due to administrative requirements, trainees' paid appointments as postdoctoral fellows are made at MD Anderson, in the department of the main MD Anderson mentor (Assistant Professor level or higher). 

1. Behavioral Science 
2. Health Disparities Research 
3. Clinical Cancer Prevention 
4. Epidemiology
5. Health Services Research