IICD Honored at S Jay Levy Fellowship Gala with Internship Partner Award

The Irving Institute for Cancer Dynamics received the Internship Partner Award from the S Jay Levy Fellowship for Future Leaders at its Gala Dinner on April 30, 2026. The event marked the Fellowship’s ten year anniversary, celebrating a program that connects talented students from the City College of New York (CCNY) with professional organizations offering summer internships. 

The Gala Dinner commenced with a warm welcome from Executive Director of the S Jay Levy Fellowship, Dr. Carlo Invernizzi Accetti. Further remarks from the President of CCNY, Vincent Boudreau, and reflections from Chairman of the Fellowship Board, David A. Levy, reiterated the significance of the Fellowship’s impact over the last ten years, culminating in the presentation of three awards. 

The prestigious Internship Partner Award, presented only three times in the past, was received by IICD’s Assistant Director of Outreach and Communication, Dr. Lorenza Favrot. “This year marks our fourth year partnering with the S Jay Levy Fellowship, and it has been an incredibly rewarding collaboration,” she said during her remarks. “Each summer, we’ve had the opportunity to host one or two fellows, typically from computer science or biology backgrounds, and we highly recommend this program to other institutions.” 

This partnership takes place through IICD’s Summer Research Program for Undergraduates (SRP). In this program, each student is paired with an IICD researcher based on their research interests. Under their mentorship, the student completes a research project. They also engage in professional development and social programming for a holistic networking experience.

The partnership has enabled fellows from CCNY to step into research environments early in their careers. One of the first fellows hosted by IICD is preparing to begin graduate studies in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences Program at Yale University this fall, while another fellow recently received the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship Award. Many fellows have continued their work with IICD and its affiliated labs beyond SRP, demonstrating the lasting impact of the S Jay Levy Fellowship.

Notably, IICD postdoctoral research scientist Dr. Lingting Shi (Azizi/McFaline-Figueroa groups) has mentored S Jay Levy Fellows throughout the first three years of the partnership. Her influence has led fellows from one cohort to mentor those in subsequent cohorts, with three fellows recently submitting a paper together.

“What makes IICD truly special is not only the high-quality, hands-on experiences they provide — often challenging our fellows to rapidly develop new technical and scientific skills — but the ongoing support and opportunities they continue to offer long after the internship ends,” shares Lavie Margolin, S Jay Levy Fellowship Managing Director. 

Building on this momentum, this upcoming summer internship will welcome its fourth generation of fellows as the partnership continues to create community and promote access to research opportunities.

Past CCNY Fellows include Hannah Khanshali ‘23, Abdullah Naqvi ‘24, Vanessa Rivas ‘24, and Marina Milea ‘25. The upcoming S Jay Levy Fellow is Gilyana Dorzhieva ‘26. 

Learn more about SRP and its alumni here.