Training the Next Generation of Science Leaders at Gerstner Sloan Kettering

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VIDEO | 03:16

Meet some of our students and faculty and learn why they think training at Gerstner Sloan Kettering is so unique.

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MARY BAYLIES

At the GSK PhD program you get the opportunity to do science with the leaders in the field. You get to see basic science, but also see how it reflects in the clinic. It's an opportunity that you can't find elsewhere.

ISAAC WAKIRO

The goal of any PhD student is to become an independent investigator. What GSK provides you is that level of mentorship from the first day you step on campus.

DANWEI HUANGFU

The students are the major players in advancing the research in my lab. The excitement of the discoveries is really in the unknown. In some ways it’s like detective work.

SAMUEL MOLINA

We have access to over 100 labs here at GSK. What captivated me to come here, just the breadth of research.

SUBHA BANIYA

Whatever your interest might be at the moment, you will definitely find a research lab for yourself just because of how vast GSK is and the faculty are.

DAN HELLER

Being in the presence of my students and trainees is exciting because they see that being in a situation where they can make a difference is just an infectious kind of mindset.

ZAZA GELASHVILI

We all look at things in a similar fashion, and we're all sort of able to relate to each other with this. And that builds friendships, and it builds science as well.

YASSMIN ELBANNA

The researchers here are united under the goal of finding therapies for cancer, but you can always find your own little hub here. You can be a basic scientist, you can be more translational, you can be an immunologist, or a molecular biologist.

KAYVAN KESHARI

It's a very unique kind of environment. You can go into the hospital, you can go to the imaging suite, you can be part of the surgery. It's an immersive environment that’s different.

ISAAC WAKIRO

What actually sets GSK apart is the combination of the incredible faculty and the small size of the program. We get to know our classmates through the lectures we take. Because we are a small program, we don't actually compete for spots in any of the labs and ultimately decide on which one we want to choose.

YASSMIN ELBANNA

Another really favorite part is being able to collaborate with clinicians. And I think that really grounds the research, it's very easy when you're standing by a bench to zoom in on cells and forget that what you're doing actually might have an impact. You're working at something that's a lot bigger.

KAYVAN KESHARI

The Cook doctoral program in cancer engineering is a new program that we've started that fundamentally changes the way we approach cancer research.

DAN HELLER

We can finally bring engineers directly to a cancer center to get a PhD, where they can have real world experiences in understanding cancer biology and find ways to test our technologies that we never would have been able to.

MARY BAYLIES

You come out with such advanced training that will set you up for whatever next step you want to take.

KAYVAN KESHARI

We want them to take the knowledge, take the skills, wherever it is that they go.

DANWEI HUANGFU

What matters is that they're making a contribution to our society.

SUBHA BANIYA

As daunting as science can be, I know that I have the help that I need here at GSK.

YASSMIN ELBANNA

It's just a very gratifying feeling filled with new exciting adventures every day.

ISAAC WAKIRO

To know that the kind of questions I'm asking today will lead to a treatment that will go into the clinic, is something that allows me to appreciate the opportunity that I have here at GSK.