The gathering featured remarks from the Dean of the T.H. Chan School of Medicine, Terrence Flotte, MD, who expressed his gratitude to the iCAP leadership team for their commitment to supporting junior investigators. Dean Flotte praised the program’s impact, noting that he would have valued such a resource early in his own career. He reaffirmed his office’s continued support for iCAP and encouraged the new cohort to make the most of the opportunity. 

iCAP, established in 2021, is designed to develop and retain early-career, research-focused faculty, empowering all tenure-track, early-career, research faculty at UMass Chan to persist and succeed in the life sciences. 

The Welcome Event introduced the incoming cohort to the goals and structure of iCAP and provided a platform for networking and collaboration. New iCAP members has a chance to introduce themselves and share both their research interests and concerns about entering their new tenure-track roles. Alumni of the program also shared their experiences and successes and described how iCAP has helped them advance their careers.

At the event, members fot he new cohort also met the iCAP leadership team: Vice Provost for Health Equity, Milagros Rosal, PhD; the Associate Vice Provost for Equity in Science and iCAP Co-lead, Mary Munson, PhD; Associate Professor and iCAP Co-lead, Cynthia Fuhrmann, PhD; Senior Scientific Writer, Justine Pinskey, PhD; Senior Program Manager, Matthew Schwartz, PhD; and Administrative Coordinator in the Office of Health Equity, Loretta Opoku.

Designed to foster career growth and build connections, iCAP continues to play a vital role in equipping junior scientists with the tools, mentorship, and community, needed to thrive in academic research.