ESMO Digital and Computational Pathology Fellowship

Supporting physicians to develop their knowledge of digital and computational pathology

ESMO recognises the importance of digital and computational pathology as a way to improve cancer care and patients’ outcomes.

In this context, we created a new fellowship to support young MDs to develop this field of precision medicine. The ESMO Digital and Computational Pathology Fellowship intends to help physicians who wish to play a role in the field of digital and computational pathology. 

Aims of the ESMO Digital and Computational Pathology Fellowship:

1. To discover new solutions and potentially new methods that can be applied to digital and computational pathology.
2. To run projects and develop collaborations that will facilitate implementation of digital and computational pathology in daily practice and in a broader way in the field of oncology.

Amount and duration   

The fellowship has a duration of two years and will provide 200,000 euros to supplement the salary of one fellow for the entire duration of the fellowship.

ESMO will offer the fellow free registration to the ESMO Annual Congress and to any other ESMO meetings which are relevant to the area of their research.

This fellowship is sponsored by AstraZeneca.

Mentorship

The fellow will have the opportunity to be paired with a member of the ESMO Faculty corresponding to their field of research.

Mentor and mentee will be required to define areas where innovation is needed, with the purpose of advancing the field of digital and computational pathology in those areas. Mentor and mentee need to define tangible goals at the time of the application, making sure the Fellow derives the highest benefit from the Fellowship.

Mentors are responsible for helping Fellows to focus on future career objectives. Fellows are expected to meet with their mentor on a regular basis (at least every two months).

Application requirements

Applicants must satisfy all the below criteria:

• Be an ESMO member.
• Be aged 40 or under when applying. An extension to the age limit will be applied to those who have taken maternity or paternity leave during their training – the limit will be extended by one year per child.  
• Be a qualified medical doctor
• The Fellowship may be carried out at any institution, worldwide, and Fellows are expected to spend 100% of their time on the proposed project.

Application must include:

• Completed online application form.

• Research Proposal (using the template supplied)
• CV, including list of publications and presentations (using the template supplied) 
  • Your CV should be no more than three A4 pages and should clearly indicate your current position.
  • List of publications and presentations (numbered and no more than one and a half A4 pages).
    • Publications: include no more than 5 publications and include a short statement (no more than 2 sentences) explaining why you have selected these and the impact they have had on your work.
    • Publications should be full publications - abstracts or communications will not be considered.
    • Presentations should be limited to the last five years.
• Motivation letter, outlining why you are applying for this Fellowship and how your skills and experience make you suitable for this Fellowship. This should be a maximum of 2 pages in font Arial Narrow, with a minimum font size 11-point.
• Recommendation letter (max 1 page) from the Head of Department at the Institution where the fellowship will take place with clear statement of commitment to guarantee the required and agreed protected time. This letter should also confirm that funding for the project, if needed, has been secured and should include a brief description of the budget allocation.

Application review process:

Applications are reviewed by the ESMO Leadership Development Committee and the final selection will be approved by the ESMO Executive Board.

Applications will be judged on:

• Quality and novelty of the project proposal and potential impact on the field of computational and digital pathology.
• The applicant’s track record, including scientific achievements, recommendation letter and demonstration of motivation to undertake the Fellowship.