CSTP trainee feature: Dr. Inna Gong
We spoke with Eliot Phillipson Clinician-Scientist Training Program (CSTP) trainee Dr. Inna Gong about what inspired her to join the program, what she’s gained from the experience, and her current research. Here’s what she had to say:
- Why did you want to join the DoM’s CSTP?
There were a few reasons. One was the community aspect, being surrounded by other trainees at a similar stage, learning about their research, their perspectives, and sharing of ideas. That kind of network is hard to build otherwise. The other big piece was the Eliot Philipson program and the protected research time that comes with it – 90% is extraordinary. Being able to genuinely focus on developing my research skills, while building clinical expertise in the same area in parallel, is really what I'd hoped fellowship training could look like. It felt like a rare alignment. Special thanks to Kristian Galberg, Dr. Mamatha Bhat, and my mentors Dr. Sam Saibil and Dr. John Kuruvilla for making this incredible time of growth possible!
- What do you feel you’ve gained in terms of experience, knowledge, connections, etc. by participating in the program?
A lot! The seminars I found particularly valuable were Muhammad Mamdani and Mamatha Bhat's seminar on machine learning and Joel Ray's grant writing seminar. Beyond the formal curriculum is something harder to quantify, being in a room with trainees across different specialties and research areas, hearing how they think about problems, realizing how much possibility exists outside your own immediate field.
- Can you share a bit about the research projects you’re currently working on?
My research program is really focused on improving outcomes for patients with relapsed or refractory large B cell lymphoma who are going through advanced cellular therapy. CAR T has transformed outcomes in lymphoma but durable remissions are only achieved in about 30 to 40% of patients, so most relapse. On top of that, access is complex and resource-intensive, and a lot of the peri-CAR T management decisions we make lack randomized evidence. So there's a lot of room to do meaningful work.
I think about three interconnected problems: who gets access to this treatment, how we optimize the delivery of it, and why it doesn’t cure some patients but cures others. My goal is to leverage population-based outcomes research to understand real-world outcomes and identify disparities in who gets referred, who gets treated, and what happens to them. I also hope to design investigator-initiated trials to optimize the delivery of CAR T. On the translational side, I'm developing a T cell metabolic fitness tool to predict who will and won't respond to CAR T, with the longer-term goal of using it to design metabolic intervention trials.
- What’s next for you as a researcher?
I've just joined the faculty in the Department of Medicine as a clinician investigator at Princess Margaret, so really, the goal now is to continue to build on what I started during fellowship. My mentors and the CSTP program set me up – I feel like I'm stepping into that next phase with a clearer research identity and a program that's already generating momentum. Now it's about sustaining that and scaling it.
- Any other comments?
I'm grateful to be a graduate of the CSTP program, and I hope it continues to grow! For any trainees who are considering an academic career in their specialty, whether that's something they're certain about or just beginning to explore, I'd strongly encourage them to apply. It's a fantastic experience, and there really is no other time in your career quite like it: protected, focused, and dedicated to developing you as a researcher.
