Research Visiting Scholar Program

The Research Visiting Scholar Program (RVSP) allows students and faculty from foreign universities the opportunity to participate in a research experience at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute for a period of at least eight weeks.

Who can become a Research Visiting Scholar?

• A student enrolled at a foreign university pursuing a degree (Bachelor's, Master’s, PhD, MD, or equivalent).
• A faculty member or professor with an active academic affiliation at a foreign university.

What kind of research can a Research Visiting Scholar do?

Research Visiting Scholars can train in a wide variety of research specialties, including but not limited to:

Wet Lab - A lab environment that deals with animal models, chemicals, cultures, etc., to draw conclusions. Examples include Metabolism and Physiology, Drug Discovery, Immunology, Molecular Oncology, Tumor Microenvironment and Metastasis and BioEngineering.

Dry Lab - A lab environment that uses computational elements and data collection to draw conclusions. Examples include  Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Integrated Mathematical Oncology, Machine Learning, Cancer Epidemiology and Health Outcomes and Behavior.

RVSP supports research projects within the basic science, population science, or quantitative science divisions. Individuals looking to train in purely clinical research projects are not eligible for this program and should contact the Academic Visiting Scholar Program (AVSP@moffitt.org), which offers clinical opportunities.

How to become a Research Visiting Scholar?   

Moffitt does not provide mentor matching services for prospective RVSPs. Interested candidates are required to find their own mentor based on their interests by searching the research directory and contacting the faculty directly. Once a match has been made, the faculty member will reach out to the office of Research Education and Training (RET) to start the onboarding process.

After a training plan form is submitted by the mentor, the applicant will be contacted by HR to start onboarding. The process includes completing the application, undergoing a screening, submitting immunization records, completing the visa process as needed and more.

Research Visiting Scholars are expected to have their own funding secured and provide proof of that funding to HR during the onboarding process.

All international trainees are subject to visa policies enacted by the government of the United States affecting the countries they are traveling from and additional immigration screenings as required by the state of Florida. The Moffitt immigration department will assist during the onboarding process to support applicants’ visa needs, as well as provide support during the scholar's stay at the cancer center.

The onboarding process takes a minimum of eight weeks, but can be further extended due to the visa process. Please keep this in mind when planning and scheduling your training experience. Prospective scholars planning to start in the summer will need to add an additional two weeks to this timeline, as the center’s onboarding volume increases.

Program contact:
Paola.Uscanga@moffitt.org