Mentorship, Education and Training (MET) Program

The Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center (CFCCC) Cancer Research Training & Education Coordination (CRTEC) sponsors the Mentorship, Education and Training (MET) program. The CFCCC MET program is a year-long mentoring program designed to engage the expertise of senior CFCCC members with the goal of supporting junior and mid-career CFCCC faculty (basic, clinical, and population science) and to catalyze strategies for overcoming career and scientific challenges.

Each MET participant (mentee) kicks off their experience by presenting a brief overview of their research program, including identifying any challenges they have encountered, to a panel of 3-5 senior CFCCC investigators. These experts provide structured guidance on next steps, available resources, and help facilitate collaborations for the mentee.

The mentee is then paired with a primary mentor who continues to meet with them for 12 months and serves as a thought-partner for challenges along the way. The MET experience culminates at the CFCCC Annual Scientific Retreat (held at the end of September), in which the mentee presents the outcomes and accomplishments of their experience as part of the retreat agenda.

Timeline:

• June 29, 2023: Request for Applications Released
• August 15, 2023: Deadline for Applications
• Late August 2023: Selection of Mentees Finalized
• September 2023 (Date TBA): MET Advisory Panel at Sprague Hall in Irvine, CA
• September 22, 2023: Attend the Scientific Retreat at Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach (retreat costs covered by CFCCC & CRTEC)
• October 2023-September 2024: Bi-Quarterly (approximately every 6 weeks) Mentor Meetings (in-person or Zoom); Monthly Email Check-ins
• September 2024: Annual Scientific Retreat Presentation/End of MET Experience

Instructions:

Junior and mid-career academic faculty who desire a career with a substantial cancer research component (Laboratory, Population Science, Clinical/Translational) are eligible to apply for the MET Program.  It is expected that applicants will either be CFCCC members or become members before the MET Advisory Panel meeting.

If you are interested in the MET Program, the link for the application is below. Please be prepared to provide a list of all grants submitted, clinical trials open and/or in development, abstracts/presentations submitted, and publications accepted/published for the past two years.

• You will need to meet with your chair (and/or your division chief, if appropriate) to obtain approval to participate and to identify the time in your schedule to participate.
• You must commit to bi-quarterly meetings (approximately every 6 weeks) with your mentor(s) along with monthly email updates.
• You must complete pre-, intra-, and post-program evaluations requested by program staff.
• You must attend the MET Advisory Panel at Sprague Hall in Irvine, CA (September 2023 – Date TBA).
• You must be available on September 22, 2023 for the Scientific Retreat at Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach
• You must agree to present at the MET panel at the 2024 Scientific Retreat (held annually at the end of September).

For questions, please email Kimberly Castellanos at kecastel@hs.uci.edu.