Research Opportunities

The Harvard Radiation Oncology Program is dedicated to training the next generation of Radiation Oncologist physician-scientists who will lead transformative research and advance cancer care. Many HROP residents pursue careers integrating rigorous clinical training with meaningful research contributions. Clinical, basic sciences and translational research opportunities abound throughout the radiation oncology residency program. During clinical training, residents are frequently offered opportunities to assume responsibility for research projects with their rotations’ attendings, many of which will culminate in posters, oral presentations, and peer-reviewed publications.

The PGY-4 year of the residency program is a dedicated research year for all residents, with several weeks of call but no other scheduled clinical responsibilities. Residents are encouraged to identify research mentors during the PGY-2 and PGY-3 years in order to pursue research experiences of their interest during PGY-4.

Those residents seeking a longer research experience may be eligible for participation in the American Board of Radiology Holman Research Pathway, which enables them to devote additional time exclusively to research responsibilities. See further information below.

The Holman Research Pathway

The Harvard Radiation Oncology Program is dedicated to training the next generation of Radiation Oncologist physician-scientists who will lead transformative research and advance cancer care. Many HROP residents pursue careers integrating rigorous clinical training with meaningful research contributions.

HROP typically has 1-2 residents per year who choose to pursue the Holman Research Pathway program, which accelerates clinical training and provides a continuous block of time for research for interested and qualified candidates. Residents become eligible for board certification after 21 months of research and 27 months of clinical training.

Key Features:

• Protected Research Time: The Holman Pathway provides residents with up to 21 months of dedicated, protected research time during residency (non-Holman residents: 12 months).
• Flexible Clinical Schedule: Clinical rotations are designed to meet individual research and career goals while maintaining all necessary clinical competencies.
• Mentored Research: Selected residents work intensively under the guidance of successful research mentors. Mentors can be affiliated with any of our affiliated hospitals and institutes. Previous residents have worked with mentors at Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Broad Institute.
• Diverse Research Opportunities: Radiation Oncology is eager to develop physician-scientists with diverse expertise, including clinical research, biological sciences, medical physics, and computational biology.

HROP’s Research Environment

The Harvard Radiation Oncology Program offers extraordinary research opportunities across the Harvard and MIT systems. HROP was approved for a total of up to 30 residents over 4 years of training, the largest in the country.

Our program offers:

• Access to world-class research laboratories and facilities
• Collaboration with leading basic and translational scientists
• Integration of clinical insights with research discovery
• Opportunities in multiple research domains aligned with resident interests

 Why Choose the Holman Pathway at HROP?

Residents who pursue the Holman Pathway at HROP benefit from:

Institutional Support: HROP’s mission emphasizes that residents need to have a commitment to specialized training in laboratory, translational, clinical, or health services research.

Diverse Career Pathways: Holman-trained residents develop skills that support careers as:

• Independent investigators leading externally funded research programs
• Academic faculty advancing clinical care and science
• Innovators at the intersection of technology and oncology
• Leaders in translational medicine

Track Record of Excellence:  Our Holman graduates go on to diverse and impactful careers: leading roles in industry, running independent research laboratories, shaping health policy, and directing clinical trials. The list below includes both Holman Pathway and non-Holman physician-scientists who are HROP alumni:

HROP Alumni	Lab Mentor/Institution in Residency	Current Affiliation
Catherine Park* ‘00	Mina Bissell / Lawrence Berkeley	UCSF (Chair)
Arnab Chakravarti* ‘00	Nicholas Dyson / MGH	Ohio State (Chair)
Kevin Camphausen* ‘01	Judah Folkman / Boston Children’s Hospital	NCI (Chief)
Henning Willers* ‘05	Simon Powell / MGH	MGH
David Kirsch ‘05	Tyler Jacks / MIT	Princess Margaret (Head of Radiation Medicine)
Scott Floyd ‘07	Michael Yaffe / MIT	Duke
Abhijit Patel* ‘08	Jack Szostak / MGH	Yale
Alec Kimmelman ‘08	Ronald DePinho / DFCI	NYU (Dean & CEO; former Chair, Director of Cancer Center)
Andrew Wang* ‘09	Robert Langer / MIT	UTSW (Vice Chair)
David Kozono ‘10	Alan D’Andrea / DFCI	BWH / DFCI
Andrew Elia ‘10	Stephen Elledge / HMS	MGH
David Miyamoto ‘11	Daniel Haber / MGH	MGH
Melin Khandekar ‘11	Bruce Spiegelman / DFCI	MGH
Kenneth Westover ‘12	Nathaniel Gray / DFCI	UTSW
Michael Pacold ‘12	David Sabatini / MIT	NYU
Joseph Mancias ‘13	Alec Kimmelman / DFCI; Wade Harper / HMS	BWH / DFCI
Mohamed Abazeed ‘13	Peter Hammerman / Matthew Meyerson / DFCI	Northwestern (Chair)
Alexander Spektor ‘14	David Pellman / DFCI	BWH / DFCI
Kent Mouw ‘15	Alan D’Andrea / DFCI	BWH / DFCI
Daniel Schmidt ‘17	Matthew Vander Heiden / Koch / MIT	BIDMC / MIT
Christine Eyler ‘17	Brad Bernstein / MGH	Duke
Sophia Kamran* ‘18	Eliezer Van Allen / DFCI	MGH
Zachary Reitman ‘19	Rameen Beroukhim / DFCI	Duke
William Hwang ‘20	Tyler Jacks / MIT; Aviv Regev / Broad	MGH
Veena Venkatachalam ‘21	Galit Lahav / HMS	Novartis
James Byrne ‘21	Robert Langer / MIT; Gio Traverson / BWH	University of Iowa
Danielle Bitterman* ’21	Hugo Aerts / BWH	AstraZeneca (VP)
Shervin Tabrizi ‘22	J. Christopher Love / MIT; Viktor Adalsteinsson / Broad	U Penn
Ryan Park ’23	Nir Hacohen / MGH / Broad	MD Anderson Cancer Center
Diana Shi ’23	William Kaelin / DFCI	MGH
David Yang* ’23	Eli Van Allen / DFCI	BWH / DFCI
Taf Chaunzwa ’24	Hugo Aerts / BWH	MSKCC

* Note: asterisks indicate non-Holman HROP Research Resident

How to Apply

Interested residents can discuss the Holman Research Pathway with HROP leadership during residency. Selection is based on:

• Strong clinical skills and performance to achieve sufficient clinical competency with abbreviated clinical training period
• Demonstrated commitment to research during medical school or residency
• Potential for developing an independent research career

For more information, contact the HROP Program Director’s office.