In 2021, the Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Physician Scholars Program was established at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) to support promising early-career physician-scientists who have significant insights into cancer and have formulated novel approaches to prevention and treatment.
This highly selective program was launched to meet the demand for top-tier basic or translational researchers within the field of oncology. Through the generosity of Mr. Gerstner, the program provides recipients with up to three years of funding, which would otherwise be difficult to obtain early on in their careers.
Program Eligibility Requirements
The Gerstner Physician Scholars Program is open to early-career, laboratory-based physician-scientists studying at or employed by MSK. Eligible applicants include senior graduate medical education fellows and junior faculty within the first three years of an initial Memorial Hospital appointment.
Applicants must demonstrate a high level of commitment to a long-term career in academic laboratory cancer research. They should be aiming to establish an independent wet or computational research laboratory advancing basic biological or translational research. While applicants may also have an interest in clinical research, these studies should be the result of ideas generated in their own laboratories or through collaborations with independent clinical investigators.
We welcome applicants from a wide range of specialties, including medical oncology, surgical oncology, gynecologic oncology, radiology, radiation oncology, pathology, neurology, pediatric oncology, and infectious diseases.
Program Application and Deadlines
This program is only open to MSK physician-scientists. Applications for 2027 will be available in Fall 2026 via the MSK intranet.
2026 Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Physician Scholars
Department: Radiation Oncology and Medicine (joint appointment)
Current Position: Assistant Attending Physician, Radiation Oncology and Genitourinary Oncology Service
Mentor: Charles Sawyers, MD
Project Title: Defining and overcoming resistance to PSMA radioligand therapy through DNA-damage repair and immune modulation
Department: Medicine
Current Position: Instructor, Genitourinary Oncology Service
Mentors: Craig Thompson, MD, and Ed Reznik, PhD
Project Title: Mitochondrial DNA mutations as drivers of metabolic, epigenetic, and immune reprogramming in renal cell carcinoma
Department: Medicine
Current Position: Fellow, Medical Oncology/Hematology
Mentor: Dana Pe’er, PhD
Project Title: Dissecting metastatic ecosystems and organotropism in colorectal cancer
Department: Medicine
Current Position: Instructor, Leukemia Service
Mentor: Omar Abdel-Wahab, MD
Project Title: Spatial determinants of clonal progression and immune remodeling in myelodysplastic syndromes and precursor states
2025 Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Physician Scholars
Department: Medicine
Current Position: Instructor, Gastrointestinal Oncology Service
Mentor: Scott Lowe, PhD
Project Title: Defining the role of type I interferon signaling in response to RAS inhibition
Department: Medicine
Current Position: Instructor, Thoracic Oncology Service
Mentor: Piro Lito, MD, PhD
Project Title: Investigating the function of PI3K pathway alterations in KRAS-mutant colorectal cancer
Department: Radiation Oncology
Current Position: Resident, Radiation Oncology
Mentor: Ross Levine, MD, PhD
Project Title: Characterizing and targeting therapy-related clonal hematopoiesis
Department: Medicine
Current Position: Instructor, Lymphoma Service
Mentor: Omar Abdel-Wahab, MD
Project Title: Defining and therapeutically targeting BTK’s scaffolding function in normal and malignant B cells
2024 Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Physician Scholars
Department: Medicine
Current Position: Instructor, Gynecologic Medical Oncology Service
Mentors: Scott Lowe, PhD, and Sohrab Shah, PhD
Project Title: Interrogating the mechanisms of chromosomal instability (CIN) induced oncogene activation in ovarian cancer development
Department: Medicine
Current Position: Instructor, Genitourinary Oncology Service
Mentors: Ming Li, PhD, and Dana Pe’er, PhD
Project Title: Immunotherapeutic targeting of tissue-resident innate lymphocytes for renal cell carcinoma
Department: Medicine
Current Position: Assistant Attending Physician, Cell Therapy Service
Mentor: Christopher Klebanoff, MD
Project Title: Immunologic targeting of undruggable TP53 hotspot mutations though T cell receptor gene therapy
Department: Medicine
Current Position: Assistant Attending Physician, Adult Bone Marrow Transplant Service
Mentor: Roni Shouval, MD, PhD, Benjamin Greenbaum, PhD, and Miguel-Angel Perales, MD
Project Title: Deciphering interactions between host and tumor in CAR T cell therapy
Alumni
2023 Scholars
Kimon Argyropoulos, MD, PhD
Project Title: Characterization of neural and neuroepithelial niches and their role in the regeneration of the thymus after acute and chronic injury
Sarah Eskreis-Winkler, MD, PhD
Project Title: Understanding and Eliminating Bias in Breast Imaging Artificial Intelligence Algorithms: A Key Step Towards Equity in Outcome for Breast Cancer Patients in the 21st Century
Karlo Perica, MD, PhD
Project Title: Overcoming Resistance to CAR T Cells for Multiple Myeloma Using Novel Synthetic Receptors
2022 Scholars
Susan Ehrenkranz De Wolf, MD
Project Title: Harnessing endogenous T cell immunity in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia
Morgan Freret, MD, PhD
Project Title: Choroid plexus and the cancer stem cell niche in leptomeningeal metastasis
Juan C. Osorio, MD
Project Title: Role of Fc receptors in the therapeutic activity of antibodies targeting the CD47-SIRP-alpha axis
Samir Zaidi, MD, PhD
Project Title: Reversion of lineage plasticity and restoration of drug sensitivity in prostate cancer: role of Janus kinase (JAK) and fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR)