Announcing the establishment of an ICEC Mentorship Endowment fund by Paul Kaplan

Paul Kaplan, son of Dr. Henry Kaplan and Leah Lebeson Kaplan, passed away in June 2021 from cancer. Prior to his death, Paul had demonstrated a decades-long interest in human service and cancer care to the underserved globally.

Paul Kaplan, in discussions with his sister Ann Kaplan and her husband, Robert Spears, and through them, with Norm Coleman, generously bequeathed a portion of his estate to the International Cancer Expert Corps Mentorship Program. Paul, who had a nearly 40-year long friendship with Norm, designated that the fund would be named the C. Norman Coleman / Paul Kaplan Endowment Fund for Mentorship.

Purpose of the Endowment Fund for Mentorship

The purpose of the Mentorship Fund is to serve as an RFA granting mechanism to accelerate the development of improving cancer care in LMIC by developing programs that enhance care delivery and outcome.

Dr. Norman Coleman, MD, Senior Scientific Advisor ICEC, NIH-NCI with Dr. Surbhi Grover, MD MPH Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology | University of Pennsylvania, Princess Marina Hospital, Gaborone, Botswana

A broad number of programs are eligible for funding, including mentoring programs, enhanced treatment delivery approaches, technological development, or other efforts that will enhance cancer care and network building. Cancer screening and prevention, although of great importance, are not the objectives of this initial pilot initiative. For this pilot initiative, radiation oncology-related projects are preferred. ICEC has a specific interest in helping to develop careers in global oncology, especially for young investigators.

Taiofeeq Ige, Medical Physicist training colleagues in Nigeria

Taofeeq Abdallah Ige, PHD, FIOMP, Chief Consultant Physicist Radiation Safety Advisor Abuja, Nigeria with trainees

APPLICATIONS are being accepted now!

Information about the application process, including eligibility, application due dates, review process and award notification, is available on the ICEC Coleman/Kaplan Grant Opportunity webpage.

ICEC Mentoring Relationships

Harmar Brereton, MD, ICEC with Onyinye Balogun, MD, Assistant Professor Weill Cornell Medicine Department of Radiation Oncology and Silvia Formenti, MD, Chairman, Department of Radiation Oncology Weill Cornell Medical College

Read about a few of ICEC’s Mentoring Programs in the BMJ Global Health article, “Capturing Acquired Wisdom, Enabling Healthful Aging, and Building Multinational Partnerships Through Senior Global Health Mentorship”