Pediatric Oncology Education (POE) Program. The program offers a unique opportunity for pre-doctoral students preparing for careers in the biomedical sciences, medicine, and pharmacy to gain biomedical and oncology research experience. Students participate in basic or clinical oncology research, a core lecture series designed specifically for them, as well as research and clinical conferences. All participants make a PowerPoint presentation on their research project on our core lecture series. They also submit a project report written in the style of a journal in which their faculty mentor publishes.
A primary goal of the POE program is to encourage highly qualified students to pursue a career in cancer research, either as a clinical scientist or laboratory-based research scientist. Our St. Jude Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences offers training in leading-edge scientific fields paired with unique mentoring in the St. Jude clinical experience. Highly motivated POE students may also consider applying to the St. Jude Graduate School upon completion of their undergraduate degree to further pursue their research and career interests.
POE medical students spend a minimum of 10 weeks in the program. The minimum tenure requirement for all others is 11 weeks. All POE applicants must have an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.40 (on a 4.0 scale) in math and science (biology, chemistry, and physics) and at least a 3.40 overall. Program participants will receive a $600/week subsistence allowance. Fully furnished group housing will be provided at no cost for non-local participants.
All POE program applicants must already have research experience and be full time students at a US school at the time they apply. Applicants must be United States citizens, non-citizen nationals, or possess a visa permitting permanent residence in the United States (required by the funding agency). Participants must be at least 18 and have completed at least their sophomore year of college when they begin the program.
