A laboratory for learning
By Robert Levy
Christine Duncan, MD, bonds with 3-year-old Noah Cronin as part of her fellowship in hematology/oncology.
It isn't billed this way, but the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, or ASCO, the largest professional organization of cancer physicians in the United States, is always something of a Dana-Farber reunion. Hundreds of attendees — including prominent researchers and clinicians in virtually every area of cancer medicine — are alumni of fellowship training programs at the Institute.
A similar situation can be found at dozens of conferences held around the world every year for laboratory scientists in cancer-related fields. Many of the participants can be counted on to have done their early work as postdoctoral fellows and graduate students here.
As much as Dana-Farber is admired for the quality of its researchers and the care provided to patients, it is equally known, in professional circles, for the caliber of its training programs for caregivers and scientists. The situation could hardly be otherwise. The vitality of its research and clinical areas depends, in no small degree, on DFCI's ability to pass on its values and standards to a new generation.
At any given time, well over 300 people are enrolled in clinical and scientific training programs at Dana-Farber. By far, the largest number of them are postdoctoral fellows ("postdocs") and graduate students, who work in research labs under the direction of individual laboratory chiefs. Other trainees include oncology fellows, Harvard Medical School students, and interns in a variety of fields such as nursing.
The oldest of these programs, reflecting Dana-Farber's origins as a center for children with leukemia and other cancers, is the fellowship in hematology/oncology offered by DFCI and Children's Hospital Boston. Established in 1943, the program annually accepts six new fellows for three or more years of clinical and research training focused on pediatric areas.
"Our purpose is to give fellows the experience and support they need to become excellent caregivers and independent researchers," says Associate Chief of Pediatric Oncology Holcombe Grier, MD, who co-directs this program with Samuel Lux, MD. "Many stay a few years beyond their fellowship to develop a body of work that becomes the basis of their careers as scientists."
The same is true of the pediatric "hem/onc" fellowship's sister program on the adult side, which is run jointly by Dana-Farber and partnering Brigham and Women's and Massachusetts General hospitals. Enrolling 14 fellows a year (from an applicant pool of more than 300), the program provides training experience in both outpatient and hospital settings.
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