This summer I worked at the Institute of Medicine (IOM) with the National Cancer Policy Forum (NCPF). During my internship I worked on two main projects, one addressed improving the quality of cancer care and the other focused on the policy issues in the clinical development and use of biomarkers for molecularly targeted therapies. For the former project I helped prepare this consensus report for final publication, and for the latter I wrote a white paper summarizing relevant issues highlighted by past IOM consensus reports and workshop summaries. During my time there I was also able to attend a two-day workshop highlighting the needs and challenges of adolescents and young adults with cancer.

Working at the NCPF was an extremely rewarding experience. Not only did I learn a lot about the specific topics that I worked on and the US healthcare system, but I was also able to observe first-hand how important (and difficult) it can be to balance the perspectives of different stakeholders. Additionally, because the IOM is staffed by people who have pursued health policy while also bringing together experts from a variety of fields, I was able to receive a lot of valuable advice about careers at the intersection of medicine and policy.

Altogether this summer was a great experience and has inspired me to continue considering public health policy as a future career goal. I would highly recommend this program to anyone interested in policy.