Charlette Ohioze, MPH, found her way to the Stanford Cancer Institute in an unusual manner.
“I was actually trying to call the California Department of Public Health, but I accidentally called the wrong number.”
At the time, Ohioze was finishing up her master’s in public health at the Colorado School of Public Health. She ended up talking with Rachel Mesia, PhD, program director in the Stanford Cancer Institute Office for Community Outreach and Engagement, about her educational background and interest in community and systems’ impact on an individual’s health and the use of data to inform public health, educate leaders, and support patients.
“I really connected with Rachel, and she mentioned that there was an opportunity to intern at the Stanford Cancer Institute in the summer.”
She underwent the application and interview process and was selected for the summer internship experience in 2019.
Discovering a passion for public health
Ohioze wasn’t always set on public health as a career. She earned her bachelor’s degree in political science with a focus on international relations and aimed to become a diplomat. She interned at different embassies in South Korea and the Philippines, but despite loving the people she worked with, she realized a career as a diplomat was not the right path for her. However, her internship in the Philippines sparked her interest in pursuing a public health career.
“I really became curious about how our systems work, whether it’s community, patients, decision makers, how we all influence each other, and how this work happens.”
From there, she studied public health and interned in Berlin and London where she began to understand how international stakeholders collaborate, fund, and work together. In London, she had her first experience with cancer research through a project evaluating cancer patients’ experiences in the U.K’s National Health Service.
Ohioze’s graduate program required a practicum and capstone project, and she opted to complete this portion of her program in California. However, because most of her contacts were in Colorado, she had to do some digging to find contacts in the Golden State, which led to her phone call to the Stanford Cancer Institute.
Internship at the Stanford Cancer Institute
Ohioze says her Stanford Cancer Institute internship was a great opportunity to understand how a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer center functions, including its grant cycles, funding, key players, and the institute's role in serving patients in its local geographical area.
During her internship, she had opportunities to help with focus group research and support the Stanford Cancer Institute Community Advisory Board. She led a community health needs assessment to evaluate the cancer burden across the areas that the Stanford Cancer Institute serves. The assessment looked at the area’s cancer incidence and mortality rates, demographics, and qualitative data collected from community members and leaders. The project goals were to identify and prioritize unmet needs across the area and to provide strategies for community outreach and education aimed at reducing the cancer burden. After her internship, she completed her master’s capstone project by using the needs assessment data to formulate next steps the institute could take based on community feedback and relevant literature.
As highlights of her internship experience, she praises the uplifting work environment, positive connections she made with her mentors and departmental leaders, and varied learning opportunities that expanded her skill set.
“It was such a fantastic internship. It’s still near and dear to my heart because it was a great opportunity to really understand the cancer world in California and the U.S., and it was a unique and comprehensive baseline of what someone in public health does to support an NCI-designated cancer center.”
She credits the strong skill set she developed at the Stanford Cancer Institute to success at subsequent internships, graduate research opportunities, and full-time positions at the California Work and Family Coalition and the UC Cancer Consortium.
“My mentors at the Stanford Cancer Institute taught me to look at the landscape of what we were learning and ask how to apply it to our work. How do we make sure our work is representative of our patients? How do we include our postdocs and support physicians? Who are we missing at the table to make sure that we’re looking at it in all aspects? Cancer is not a parallel line, so there are many avenues to consider.”
Helping the next generation of cancer scientists
Ohioze returned to the Stanford Cancer Institute in 2025 as a full-time project coordinator. She says the stars aligned when she saw the job posting, as she had recently lost a few friends to cancer, and supporting cancer research felt like a meaningful way to honor their memories.
Her role supports students, postdocs, residents, and fellows enrolled in Stanford cancer training programs. As part of her job, she organizes events for trainees, including luncheons with nationally recognized cancer experts visiting Stanford’s campus for the Stanford Cancer Institute Breakthroughs in Cancer seminar series, and facilitates programs to help trainees grow their research skills and professional networks.
“These opportunities are essential for young professionals. It is fulfilling to contribute to an institution that has profoundly influenced my career, broadened my perspective, and supports programs that are cultivating the next generation of researchers, particularly in the field of cancer research. I am enthusiastic about being part of a team that is making a significant impact on the future."