Michelle Mollica, Careers After CON

CON alumna Michelle Mollica, PhD, MPH, RN, OCN works on the frontlines of cancer research as a Senior Advisor in the Office of Cancer Survivorship at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) with a secondary appointment as a Program Director in the Healthcare Delivery Research Program at the NCI. She is also a MUSC College of Nursing adjunct in the Ph.D. and DNP programs.

She recently shared what she loves most about her career and how MUSC’s College of Nursing helped her grow as a researcher and nurse scientist.

What’s your typical day like?

Our mission in OCS is to promote efforts to enhance the quality and length of survival of all persons diagnosed with cancer and to prevent, minimize, or manage adverse effects of cancer and its treatment. As a Senior Advisor, my role is to develop, support, and promote research efforts focused on cancer survivorship. We do that through several activities, including supporting survivorship researchers, building infrastructure, leveraging stakeholder expertise, generating collaborations among stakeholders including researchers, survivors, and advocates, and promoting understudied research areas. My day often involves meetings with collaborators, speaking with organizations about our work, and working on research projects focused on survivorship and healthcare delivery.

What’s the best thing about your job?

I am so fortunate to work at such a mission-driven organization and with tremendous team members at NCI and OCS. We truly want to improve the lives of all people impacted by cancer, and the work that we do makes a difference.

Fun Fact about where you work:

Our NCI offices are located outside of D.C. in Maryland. As someone originally from Buffalo, N.Y., the people in this region have NO idea what snow is. :)

How did CON’s Ph.D. in Nursing Science Program prepare you for this role?

My mentor in the PhD program, Dr. Lynne Nemeth, is the real reason that I even considered working at the NCI when I came here for a post-doctoral fellowship. The faculty at the CON encouraged me to think broadly about the impact that nursing research can have on patients and health systems, and the many career paths that a nurse scientist can take.

How did CON help you grow as a researcher and nurse scientist?

At the CON, not only did I learn how to plan, conduct, and disseminate nursing research, but I also learned the fundamentals of collaboration, leadership, receiving and providing constructive feedback, and how to prioritize patient-centered research to improve outcomes and make change.

—Michelle Mollica