Israel-City Of Hope Fellowship Program in Biomedical Research

 

 

The Israel‐City of Hope Fellowship Program in Biomedical Research was established by Drs. Arthur Riggs and Shmuel Cabilly to honor their decades‐long collaboration and friendship, and to foster interaction and collaboration between City of Hope and the biomedical and biotechnology community in Israel. This program offers highly qualified, recent PhD graduates from Israel the opportunity to conduct biomedical research with a mentor at City of Hope in preparation for a scientific career in Israel. In the first year of this program, three Israeli postdoctoral fellows, recently graduated from Tel Aviv and Bar Ilan Universities, are now at City of Hope conducting research in epigenetics, tumor immunology and noncoding RNAs. We are soliciting applications for the second round of fellowships, set to begin in January 2014.

 

Research Environment: Located in the Los Angeles area, City of Hope is recognized for its research into fundamental biology and genetics, and for the application of these findings to translational research through the close association of the Beckman Research Institute and the Comprehensive Cancer Center. Among other achievements, research at City of Hope has led to the production of recombinant human insulin, provided the foundation for recombinant monoclonal antibodies such as herceptin, and initiated RNAi‐based gene therapy against HIV.

 

The Beckman Research Institute has a staff of more than 500, including nearly 100 principal investigators. Its areas of interest span eleven departments:

 

Cancer Biology. The Department of Cancer Biology offers a multidisciplinary research and training environment in tumor cell biology, radiation biology, molecular biology, genetics, epigenetics and developmental biology.

 

Cancer Immunotherapeutics & Tumor Immunology. Dedicated to discovering immune‐based cancer therapies, the Department of Cancer Immunotherapeutics & Tumor Immunology conducts research in a new and evolving field and is known particularly for its studies using genetically engineered T cells.

 

Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases Research. This department focuses on understanding the genetic and molecular bases of diabetes, developing novel treatment approaches for diabetes and preventing associated diseases such as cancer, heart disease and stroke.

 

Immunology. With a dual focus on immunology and structural biology, the Department of

Immunology explores cancer immunology and biochemistry, antigen processing and T cell

development.

 

Molecular and Cellular Biology. Maintaining a strong emphasis on the interface of chemistry and biology, the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology focuses on gene structure, modeling of antibodies, theoretical biology and more.

 

Molecular Medicine. The Department of Molecular Medicine seeks to understand basic mechanisms underlying cancer and other diseases for the purpose of developing novel molecular therapeutics.

 

Molecular Pharmacology. The Department of Molecular Pharmacology aims to bridge the gap between the development of promising new drugs and their application in the clinic.

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Neurosciences. The Department of Neurosciences focuses on a range of research related to the brainand nervous system, including studies of molecular neurobiology/neurochemistry,

neurophysiology, neuromorphology and molecular genetics.

 

Population Sciences. Department researchers collaborate to better understand the causes of cancer,improve outcomes and develop ways to prevent cancer through discoveries made in populationstudies, survivorship, patterns of care and more.

 

Radiation Biology. The Department of Radiation Biology studies the fundamental mechanisms of cancers and radiation resistance in cancer cells to find a solution to improve the efficacy of

radiation therapy.

 

Virology. Research in the Department of Virology encompasses viral vector development, viral

immunology, and vaccine development. The program includes early phase clinical trials in genetransfer and in vaccine evaluation.

 

Duration of the Program: The program provides support for up to 3 years. All fellows spend the first two years conducting research in the laboratory of their City of Hope mentor. A unique aspect of this program is that a fellow may select to spend the third or final year of support in a 9 month‐long,

 

Postdoctoral Professional Masters (PPM) program at the Keck Graduate Institute at Claremont,

California, followed by a 3 month‐long, paid, corporate, biotechnology internship program.

Alternatively, the fellow may choose to use the third year of support to continue his/her research program at City of Hope. This period of research can be further extended pending support provided by the mentor. At the conclusion of the fellowship, it is expected that the fellow will return to Israel to obtain an independent position and to conduct research in an academic or industry setting.

 

Financial support: For each year conducting research, the fellow will receive $50,000 as a 12 month stipend plus $10,000 per year for research expenses in their mentor’s laboratory and for travel to scientific meetings. Participants in the optional PPM program will receive a $37,500 stipend for the 9 months at KGI, with tuition and fees paid by the fellowship program.

 

Selection process:

The first step is for each candidate to identify a potential mentor at City of Hope, and contact this individual to discuss acceptance into their laboratory and possible projects. Information on City of Hope faculty and their research can be found at http://www.cityofhope.org/Documents/Education/Graduate_Catalog_2011‐2012.pdf. Potential fellows should also contact one of the program coordinators for written application materials. After an initial review, finalists will be invited to participate in an on‐line interview with the selection committee.

 

Timeline:

August 1, 2013 – Deadline for submission of Application materials.

August‐September 2013 – Initial review of applications and on‐line interviews.

October 1, 2013 – Results of the competition will be communicated to applicants.

January 2014 – Start of fellowship.

 

Contact Information

For additional information about City of Hope and the fellowship program, contact information for the present fellows, application materials and a PDF file of the graduate catalog, please contact: Professor Michael E. Barish at City of Hope (MBarish@coh.org)

or Professor Amnon Peled at Hadassah Hebrew University Hospital (Peled@hadassah.org.il; tel: 972‐2‐ 6778780).