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Scott Sherman, MD, MPH, VETCARE COIN Associate Director, VETCARE COIN Mentorship Core Co-Lead
Dr. Sherman is a Clinician Investigator and Internist in VA since 1991 and was on the executive leadership of CSHIIP COIN in Los Angeles until 2005, when he moved to the VA New York Harbor Healthcare System. Dr. Sherman is a nationally renowned researcher and expert in health promotion and VA health services research, currently leading 5 federally funded clinical trials. He is Professor of Population Health, Medicine and Psychiatry at NYU School of Medicine. He has been continuously funded as PI of VA Merit Award grants for over 25 years. Dr. Sherman’s research focuses on redesigning healthcare systems to better help people quit smoking, particularly on population health studies examining the effectiveness of interventions in routine practice, as well as how to disseminate and implement them. His other area of focus is telehealth, and he is currently PI of the Virtual Care Consortium of Research, a national VA center representing the 200-300 VA investigators conducting research on or with virtual care. He is also PI of THRIVE, a national NCI-funded P50 Center, which is focused on assessing the impact, quality, and equity of delivering cancer care by telehealth within the VA. Dr. Sherman also started and co-directs the NYU CTSI Recruitment and Retention Core, which helps studies increase both the quantity and quality of recruitment. He has authored over 250 scientific papers. Dr. Sherman is Associate Director of the VETCARE COIN, and co-leads its Mentorship Core, working to recruit and train early career investigators.
Aasma Shaukat, MD, MPH, VETCARE COIN Mentorship Core Co-Lead
Dr. Shaukat is a Gastroenterologist and Director of Outcomes Research, Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology at NYU School of Medicine. She is Chair of the VHA Gastroenterology Field Advisory Board. Her research aims to develop new tests for colon cancer screening and improving risk assessment for patients with a personal or family history of colon cancer. Dr. Shaukat has received numerous awards for her research and mentoring, including the Healio Woman Disruptor of the Year Award by the medical publisher, Healio Gastroenterology, and the MVP Scopy Award by the American College of Gastroenterology for colorectal cancer awareness efforts. Dr. Shaukat leads the VETCARE Research Scholars’ Program and co-leads the COIN’s Mentorship Core.
The VETCARE Research Scholars Program (RSP) trains junior faculty and postdoctoral staff with support from the VETCARE COIN (Veterans EquiTy in the Cancer CAre Continuum REsearch). We prepare scholars to apply for Career Development Awards (CDA) from VA and NIH or equivalent resources to support their work. We also teach the skills necessary to effectively accelerate scientific discoveries that improve health, with small group mentoring and training skills in effective communication, leadership, and career navigation.
Our primary goal is to support the next generation of multi-disciplinary clinical and health service researchers in the VHA.
Applications are encouraged from individuals who are women, underrepresented in medicine, have diverse physical abilities, or come from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Applications will be reviewed by a selection committee, and successful candidates will be notified by July 1, 2025. The program will begin in September 2025.
Please submit the following documents by May 31, 2025:
Your application will be reviewed by COIN leadership. We are most interested in funding people who plan to apply for a VA Career Development Award (CDA) in the near future. Applicants are encouraged to apply for a CDA. The main criterion for evaluation is the likelihood of future success in obtaining an award.
The RSP provides 1-2 years of mentoring and training. The program will run from September to May every year. There is no salary support accompanying the program, but some funds are available for attendance at the annual HSR conference or similar activity annually.
In addition to working with their Principal Investigator (PI), scholars meet monthly as a group, along with the Program Directors. These mandatory meetings create group cohesion, provide interdisciplinary support, and scholars update one another on current research status. Monthly meetings provide opportunities for troubleshooting, addressing roadblocks, securing recommendations for networking with other investigators and resources, and generally promoting the advancement of the research endeavor. The Program Directors provide feedback on manuscript and grant ideas, professional development, and work-life balance issues.
Scholars are expected to meet with their PI and the Program Directors twice a year. These meetings serve as a venue for us to review your research progress to date, your accomplishments and/or barriers (e.g., are you making enough progress in your research, is there any cross-mentoring that you could benefit from, are you applying to the right grants, are you encountering any structural barriers to success, what does your mentor think of how you are doing, etc.), and to make sure that you are on track.
Scholars are expected to present at the HSRD Research in Progress Seminar, which takes place monthly, and is sponsored by HSRD VETCARE COIN.
For more information please contact Andrea Aquines at: andrea.aquines@va.gov
