ICARE Leadership
Program Directors: Jon Houtman, PhD and Andrean Simons-Burnett, PhD
ICARE selection committee receives input from:
- American Cancer Society regional representative
- Current graduate students or postdoctoral research scholars from diverse backgrounds
- Faculty members from broad research backgrounds
- Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center leadership
"I look forward to individualized career coaching for each ICARE fellow where I will advise on career options, review application materials, and provide letters of support. I look forward to building a mentoring relationship with each fellow to support them as they begin their journey into the scientific workforce. Both as the Associate Director of Career Enhancement at Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center and as a member of many admissions committees, I have been involved at multiple levels with diverse trainees including teaching, mentoring, advising, and program administration."
-- Jon Houtman, PhD, ICARE Co-Director and Principal Investigator
"As the Associate Director of Diversity Equity and Inclusion at Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, I focus on fostering a collective sense of engagement, affirmation, and belonging as the foundation of the work we do. I have a long-term commitment in supporting the next generation of diverse scientists – this is an area I’ve invested my time in for the past 15 years.”
-- Andrean Simons-Burnett, PhD, ICARE Co-Director
ICARE Mentors
ICARE participants have the opportunity to work with mentors from across Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center including:
- Songhai Chen, MD, PhD (Associate Professor of Neuroscience and Pharmacology)
- Jess Gorzelitz, PhD, MS (Assistant Professor of Health and Human Physiology)
- Michael Henry, PhD (Professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics)
- James H. Holmes, PhD (Assistant Professor of Radiology)
- Yi Huang, MD, PhD (Associate Professor of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology, Oncology and Blood & Marrow Transplantation)
- Maria Spies, PhD (Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)
- Erin Talbert, PhD (Assistant Professor of Health and Human Physiology)
- Jessica Tucker, PhD (Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology)
These faculty members support the participants in a project that aligns with their general area of cancer interest and provides direct experience with the scientific process. The participants develop a formal oral presentation of their research project to present at a seminar and a poster to present at the annual HCCC Scientific Retreat.
2023-2025 ICARE Fellows
ICARE fellows joining Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center from summer 2023 to summer 2025 include (pictured, left to right):