“St. Jude understands what it takes and what it will take to bring about a next generation of scientists and clinicians that will continue to advance our mission and goals well beyond today.”
Training programs
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Why St. Jude
St. Jude is not a typical research institution. Our focus on childhood catastrophic diseases, and the funding model that supports it, gives trainees something rare: the freedom to pursue ambitious science without the constraints that define most research environments. If you are serious about your science and want your work to matter, this is the place.
Science that makes a difference
At St. Jude, the distance between a laboratory discovery and a child's treatment is shorter than almost anywhere else in the world. Whether your work is at the molecular level or the bedside, you are part of an institution that conducts some of the most innovative pediatric research, from fundamental biology to massive collaborative initiatives like the Pediatric Cancer Genome Project. Basic science is deeply valued here, and the on-campus infrastructure to move discoveries toward clinical application is unmatched.
Resources built for discovery
The facilities and shared resources at St. Jude are designed to expand what any individual lab can do. Cores and shared technologies give you access to capabilities that would be out of reach elsewhere, and hands-on training is available when you want to master something new. The campus itself reflects this commitment: state-of-the-art faculty labs, a biomedical library with access to more than 4,700 journals, a chemical library of more than 800,000 small molecules, a Global Education and Collaboration Center, and a current Good Manufacturing Practice facility, all within a beautifully maintained and continuously growing campus.
Expert Mentorship & cross disciplinary collaboration
Trainees at St. Jude work directly with faculty who are among the best in their fields: more than 300 investigators spanning basic and translational science to clinical care, including Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators, Fellows of the Royal Society, and members of the National Academy of Sciences and Medicine. What makes this environment distinctive is not just the caliber of the faculty, but the culture they have built. Scientists and clinicians work across disciplines as a matter of course, and the openness to exchange ideas across the campus is genuine.
Support for research trainees
The Office of Academic Programs in the Biomedical Sciences is dedicated to making your time at St. Jude as productive and rewarding as possible; scientifically, professionally, and personally. Whatever stage of training you are in, our faculty and staff are here to help you get the most out of this experience.
Educational and professional development opportunities
We offer high-quality programs designed to build knowledge and skills across areas of specialization. Regular seminars, guest speakers, and networking opportunities help trainees at every level develop a career path and the professional skills to pursue it, complementing the focused work happening in labs and clinics across campus.
Administrative support
Relocating to a new city is a significant undertaking, and we work to make the transition as smooth as possible. Our office provides visa and relocation assistance, coordinates orientation, and connects trainees with resources on housing, schools, banking, childcare, and more, so you can focus on your work from day one.
Community-building
We organize poster sessions, forums, and events that give trainees regular opportunities to present their work, exchange ideas, and build relationships across the institution. Our office works closely with the Postdoctoral Council and key advisory boards to develop programs that reflect the real needs of our trainee community.
Program oversight
We recruit, evaluate, and support trainees across all research training programs at St. Jude and we continuously assess those programs to ensure they are advancing both the science and the careers of the people in them.
Research Training leadership
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Gerard P. Zambetti, PhD
Member, St. Jude Faculty
Affiliations
Research Interests
- Function of wild-type and mutant p53 in tumor suppression and oncogenesis
- Regulation of cell cycle, cell survival and differentiation
- The biology of pediatric adrenocortical carcinoma
Contact Information
Gerard P. Zambetti, PhD
Pathology
MS 276, Room D5006B
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
262 Danny Thomas Place
Memphis, TN 38105-3678
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Steven M. Varga, PhD
Member, St. Jude Faculty
Dean, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Ex-officio member, Board of Trustees
Email
steven.varga@stjude.orgSteven M. Varga, PhD
Member, St. Jude Faculty
Dean, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Ex-officio member, Board of Trustees
Research Interests
- Immunopathogenesis of respiratory viruses
- Innate and adaptive immunity to respiratory syncytial virus
- Vaccine development
- Pathogenesis of viral co-infections
- Cancer immunotherapy
Biography
Steven Varga received his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame before going on to earn his PhD in Immunology and Virology from the UMass Chan Medical School. He completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Virginia, after which he joined the faculty of the University of Iowa.
In Iowa, his passion for mentorship and working with students took hold through his role as Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Graduate Student Development in the Graduate College. He held the position of Professor of Microbiology and Immunology and maintained a secondary appointment in Pathology. In this role, he led an independent research program focusing on the role of virus-specific T lymphocytes in mediating immunity and immunopathology during viral infections, with a particular focus on respiratory viruses such as RSV, influenza A virus and SARS-CoV-2.
In 2021, he was recognized with a certificate of distinction for the Annual Student Supervisor of the Year Award from the University of Iowa. He has been the recipient of grants and fellowship support from the American Association of Immunologists, the American Lung Association and the National Institutes of Health, among others. He is an active member of the American Association of Immunologists, the American Society for Microbiology and the Society for Leukocyte Biology. He serves on several journal editorial boards and often gives invited lectures on his research.
Contact Information
Steven M. Varga, PhD
Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
MS 1500, Room IA1200
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
262 Danny Thomas Place
Memphis, TN 38105-3678
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Suzanne A. Gronemeyer, PhD
Associate Director, Academic Programs
Director, Pediatric Oncology Education (POE) Program
Suzanne A. Gronemeyer, PhD
Associate Director, Academic Programs
Director, Pediatric Oncology Education (POE) Program
Affiliations
Biography
Dr. Gronemeyer has held positions with the University of Missouri in St. Louis, Washington University in St. Louis, the National Science Foundation, Argonne National Laboratory, Massachusetts General Hospital, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, and Siemens Medical Systems
She is a medical physicist with expertise in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). After six years with Siemens as their first MR Applications Scientist, Dr. Gronemeyer joined Diagnostic Imaging at St. Jude in 1988 as an Associate Member.
In 1997, she became Director of our Pediatric Oncology Education (POE) Program and Principal Investigator on R25CA023944, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) grant which funds the POE Program.
She moved to our Academic Programs Office as Associate Director in 2000. In 2002, she obtained a CURE supplement to our NCI Cancer Center Support Grant to enable additional outstanding under-represented minority students to participate in our POE program.
She serves on review committees for the NCI and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities and has served on the boards of the Intercultural Cancer Council and the American Association for Cancer Education (AACE).
Dr. Gronemeyer is a Fellow of the AACE and a recipient of the AACE Margaret Hay Edwards Achievement Medal For Outstanding Contributions to Cancer Education.
Contact Information
Suzanne A. Gronemeyer, PhD
Associate Director, Academic Programs
MS 276, Room K1400.11
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
262 Danny Thomas Place
Memphis, TN 38105-3678
Contact information
Academic Programs Office
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
262 Danny Thomas Place, MS276
Memphis, TN 38105-3678
Phone: (901) 595-2750
Fax: (901) 595-5376
