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NCI’s Sally Rosen Kaplan fellowship leaders report strong retention and career transitions for women scientists
Summary
Leaders of the National Cancer Institute's Sally Rosen Kaplan Postdoctoral Fellowship say a decade of post-program surveys show 78% of fellows advanced to the next career stage and stayed in biomedical research; the program combines a 30-week leadership coaching module, mentoring, peer support and skills training.
The National Cancer Institute's Sally Rosen Kaplan (SRK) Postdoctoral Fellowship for Women Scientists has, leaders say, helped most participants move successfully into subsequent stages of biomedical careers. Erica Ginsberg, director of the Office of Training and Education in NCI's Center for Cancer Training, told the podcast Insight Cancer Careers that after 10 years of the revised program, "78 percent of them have gone on to their next career stage already, and all of those have remained in the biomedical workforce."
Ginsberg described the SRK program as a retention-focused intervention that pairs a 30-week leadership coaching series with a mentoring network and skills workshops. "The largest component is the leadership coaching. It is a 30 week component, where they meet individually and as a cohort with a coach that we bring in," she said, adding that fellows also receive mentoring from senior women scientists in academia, industry or government and are paired with peers for accountability.
The program was created from an endowment tied to Sally Rosen Kaplan, who left an estate that Dr. Jeff Rosen and his wife worked with the Foundation for the NIH to turn into a fellowship for women in science. "She was my aunt," Dr. Rosen said, describing the family connection and the decision to use the funds to support underserved women scientists. Initially intended to supplement stipends and recruit postdoctoral fellows, the fellowship was revised at the Center for Cancer Training to emphasize retention and leadership skill-building.
Ginsberg said program evaluation relied on matched pre- and post-program surveys for fellows across 10 years. The reported gains were primarily in self-reported areas: self-confidence, time management, work-life balance, communication and relationship-building skills. On post-program placements she summarized observed outcomes: "35 percent of them have gone on to academic positions, and 33% are in government research, and 26% are transitioned to industry."
Dr. Rosen, who holds a long-standing research and mentorship role at Baylor College of Medicine, reinforced the importance of relationships forged during training. He cited examples of collaborators who maintained ties and later obtained joint grants. He also described how flexible, long-duration grants such as merit awards provided runway for exploratory projects and for trainees to pursue new directions.
Program leaders said they solicited alumni feedback during the program redesign and continue to survey fellows after completion for suggestions. Ginsberg said most alumni asked only for "more of the same" and that some wished they had known about the program earlier in their careers.
The episode included a promotional interstitial for NCI's research discovery app "Nancy," described in the recording as an AI-powered tool; program leaders did not make claims linking the app to SRK outcomes.
The SRK fellowship remains supported through the family endowment administered via the Foundation for the NIH and operated in partnership with NCI's Center for Cancer Training. Program leaders said they saw little in the way of changes needed after a decade, but that they continue to accept feedback from fellows and alumni as they plan future cohorts. The podcast host said a follow-up episode will feature two SRK alumni.
