The trainee-mentor relationship is critical to the long-term success of the VIMORTP trainee. There are over 45 potential mentors or junior co-mentors for the VIMORTP. The group has ample diversity to allow a superb menu of topic and mentoring style choices for trainees. All preceptors have a focus on research, teaching, and training directly relevant to the training
program goals. Trainees will participate in a project or projects directly related to their mentor's research with the expectation of becoming increasingly independent over time. Trainees are explicitly expected to develop their own ideas, hypotheses, and skill sets, rather than simply accomplishing tasks defined by their preceptor. Creativity and rigorous, critical evaluation of data is emphasized.
Trainees are encouraged to seek mentorship from one or more of the expert mentors/investigators listed below in the following research niches.
Precision Oncology
| Name | Credentials |
| Tim Blackwell |
MD |
| Scott Borinstein | MD, PhD |
| Richard Caprioli | PhD |
| Jin Chen | MD, PhD |
| Robert Coffe | MD |
| Bruce Compass | PhD |
| Debra Friedman | MD, MS |
| Scott Hiebert | PhD |
| Richard Ho | MD, MSCI |
| Patrick Hu | MD, PhD |
| Barbara Murphy | MD |
| Kimryn Rathmell | MD, PhD |
| Wei Zheng | MD, PhD, MPH |
Tumor Immunology/Immune Therapy
| Name | Credentials |
| Mark Boothby | MD, PhD |
| Doug Johnson | MD, MSCI |
| Rick Peek | MD |
| Jeff Rathmell | PhD |
| Ann Richmond | PhD |
| Mary Philip | MD, PhD |
Therapeutic Development and Mechanisms of Resistance
| Name | Credentials |
| Vandana Abramson | MD |
| Justin Balko | PharmD, MD |
| Jordan Berlin | MD |
| Christine Lovly | MD, PhD |
| Jennifer Pietenpol | PhD |
| Michael Savona | MD |
| William Tansey | PhD |
| Consuelo Wilkins | MD, MSCI |
Oncology Bioinformatics and Big Data
| Name | Credentials |
| Qiuyin Cai | MD, PhD |
| William Cooper | MD, MPH |
| Nancy Cox | PhD |
| Michael DeBaun | MD, MPH |
| David Penson | MD, MPH, MMHC |
| Vito Quaranta | MD |
| Xiao-ou Shu | MD, PhD, MPH |
| Yu Shyr | PhD |
| Jeremy Warner | MD, MS |