An aim of the Telehealth Research and Innovation for Veterans with Cancer (THRIVE) Center is to foster and build a learning network of the next generation of telehealth cancer researchers. In this mission, the center seeks early-career investigators who are focused on conducting telehealth research and committed to building a growing research community for our Scholars Program (SP).

Program Eligibility

The THRIVE SP is established for early-career investigators who have completed doctoral-level training and have yet to obtain independent funding through major grants such as CDA, R01, K, or equivalent awards. Investigators focused on achieving such award funding in the next one to two years are prioritized as this is considered a critical moment of research career development. Though not a requirement for application, investigators with a VA affiliation are also prioritized. Those without a VA affiliation should provide justification for why their application would be appropriate given the overall mission and makeup of THRIVE. Reviewers prioritize applicants whose mentor or mentors have funded VA-based research.

The SP accepts two early-career investigators per yearly cycle who are focused on telehealth cancer research, at least one of which must have a specific focus on health equity within this space.

Program Award

Participants in the SP are awarded a one-time fund of $25,000. The funds are available to support telehealth cancer care research, including research support, conference travel, and other project-related expenses. Funds must be used in fiscal year of the award. The applicants’ identified mentor; SP directors Thomas Rodgers, MD, and Mark D. Schwartz, MD; and additional program mentorship can assist in determining constructive ways to spend award funds to achieve the participant’s goal or project and to ensure timely used of funds.

Program Application Timeline

The application window for fiscal year 2024 has closed. Please check back in March of 2025 for information regarding our next application cycle.

Program Expectations

The SP provides funds to assist early-career investigators pursuing research in the application of telehealth in cancer care. It is expected that participants will use the funds to conduct research, quality improvement, or evaluation projects guided by their mentor. An institutional review board (IRB) approval, if needed, should be pursued in the first three months of program so that project can be initiated by six months; for quality improvement/evaluation projects, THRIVE may facilitate non-research designation letters. Additional mentorship can be provided or identified by the SP directors.

Participants are also expected to participate in a robust curriculum outlined below, as well as serve in an alumni network to foster future investigators. Feedback at multiple junctures is requested to ensure that the program meets its primary aims. While there is not a specific research outcome required by the end of the program, it is expected that participants will be able to demonstrate growth of their project through possible publications, abstracts, or presentations.

Program Mentorship

Mentorship is a core element of the SP, and each trainee is mentored at multiple levels: primary research mentor, program advisor, meta-mentoring, and peer and near-peer mentoring.

Primary Research Mentors

The applicant identifies a primary research mentor with a VA affiliation and ideally at or near their home institution. The program directors discuss with each mentee and mentor the roles and responsibilities of each in advancing the trainee’s career. In regular meetings (at least monthly), the trainee and primary mentor will plan the design and troubleshoot the progress, analysis, and preparation for publication of the proposed research.

Program Advisor

Each trainee is also assigned a THRIVE faculty member as a program advisor. Advisors meet monthly with their assigned trainees to orient them to the program, facilitate meetings with potential collaborators, and provide complementary coaching in their mentored research, education, and career-crafting plans. Program advisors are liaisons among the trainee, primary mentor, and program directors, often identifying and helping to troubleshoot issues as they arise.

Meta-Mentoring

Trainees meet virtually each semester with the THRIVE SP directors, faculty advisor, and primary research mentor for formal meta-mentoring. The goals of these meetings are to review progress on the trainee’s Individualized Development Plan (IDP) and research, address any potential challenges or impediments, and discuss the trainee’s plans for work and career after the program. Before these meetings, trainees share their IDP, CV, and strategies to pursue plans after the program.

Peer and Near-Peer Mentoring

Trainees support one another during the monthly webinars and in their relationships. These key skills and support are intentionally facilitated by the program directors by modeling and fostering substantive, constructive feedback during Research-in-Progress discussions. Once trainees complete the program, they enter our alumni network and will pair with new trainees to provide near-peer mentoring and support.

Program Curriculum

We offer a robust curriculum to all participants.

Orientation

During orientation, trainees receive an overview of program expectations, roadmap, and timeline, and a core set of assigned readings and online tutorials about teleoncology practice and research methods. Trainees also draft an IDP that includes an outline of learning goals and targeted accomplishments for the program with input from their primary mentor and program advisor.

Through the Meet the Professor sessions, THRIVE program faculty talk about their career and facilitate discussions of core research and themes in teleoncology and health equity.

Monthly Webinars

The monthly webinars consist of 90-minute meetings split into two, 45-minute sessions for several activities facilitated by Dr. Rodgers, Dr. Schwartz, and THRIVE faculty.

Learn more about the webinar activities and see a sample schedule.

Independent Mentored Research

Crafting a compelling and worthwhile research project is a core objective of each trainee’s program. Study choice and development begin in the application process and is refined during the first weeks to months of the program. Trainees are encouraged to shape their own research interests to leverage collaborative opportunities with ongoing research. If needed, they are expected to submit an IRB application for the research they plan to conduct in the first three months and to initiate the project within the first six months of the program. Project timelines and expectations are clearly conveyed to trainees at orientation and by their faculty advisors, and are reviewed in meta-mentoring sessions.

As trainees design their research plans, they are urged to consider three core translational “tests” with their mentor to assist them in framing their research question and refining their scientific premise:

• The “So What?” test: What changes will plausibly occur if the study results are as hoped for? What if they are not?
• The “Reinventing the Wheel” test: Has a similar study been undertaken in the past? Did it change practice or advance knowledge? If so, what will be the additional contribution of the present study? If not, what features of the design of the present study will cause it to advance practice when previous studies did not?
• The Implementation/Dissemination test: To what extent does the study design optimize the likelihood that broad-scale implementation would occur? Have potential barriers to implementation and adoption in other settings been considered in designing the study?

In June, trainees make final presentations of their research to all THRIVE program faculty. Each trainee has 20 minutes to present and 15 minutes for discussion and feedback.

Program Faculty

The faculty comprises the THRIVE investigative team, which includes members from NYU Grossman School of Medicine and other institutions. Faculty members are matched to successful applicants as program advisors, facilitate select webinar sessions, and participate in feedback panels during Research in Progress sessions.

Mark D. Schwartz, MD
Program Director

Thomas Rodgers, MD
Program Director

Daniel J. Becker, MD
Charles Cleland, PhD
Paula Cupertino, PhD
Daphne Friedman, MD
Heather T. Gold, PhD, MPP
Michael Kelley, MD
Danil V. Makarov, MD
Glen Morgan, PhD
Olugbenga G. Ogedegbe, MD, MPH
Vida Passero, MD, MBA
Traudi Rose, RN, DNP, MBA
Scott E. Sherman, MD, MPH
Karen Steinhauser, PhD
Leah Zullig, PhD, MPH