Cancer Research - Scholarship and Training Experience's in Population Sciences" (C-STEPS)

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT As a nation, we have made tremendous advances in cancer prevention and control. However, these advances have not accrued evenly across society. New directions in population health, genetic screening and precision medicine may hold promise to promote health equity through risk identification and disease preemption, leading to potentially transforming cancer morbidity and mortality. To be at this cutting edge of scientific discovery and translation, we require more, and better prepared, STEM-H (science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and health) professionals trained in cancer and health focused careers. The long-term goal of this program is to increase the biomedical and behavioral research workforce by providing specialized and experiential curricula that highlights team-oriented population sciences. In order to contribute to this goal, the overall objective of this initiative is to implement a cancer research education program, “Cancer Research—Scholarship and Training Experiences in Population Sciences” (C-STEPS). This program is designed to facilitate and support undergraduate students in their completion of a degree in a STEM-H field and to facilitate their selection of, and application to, graduate or professional schools, while encouraging their interests in research careers. C-STEPS, a 10-week summer cancer research experiences program, consists of 4 integrated components: 1) inquiry-based research seminars, 2) skills-based, student-tailored, mentored research experiences, 3) development of career plans, and 4) team-building activities. We will recruit cohorts of 10 undergraduates nationally for participation in C-STEPS. We will solicit applications from students intending to pursue graduate or professional education in STEM-H disciplines. Students will participate full-time from mid-May through August, guided by faculty and research mentors with expertise in cancer control and population sciences (i.e., cancer risk prediction and risk reduction, cancer screening, cancer outcomes, and survivorship). C-STEPS builds on existing resources at the University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center. Specific aims are to: 1) Provide foundational understanding, through inquiry-based research seminars, of current and emerging innovations in cancer prevention and control and of collaborative team science through team-building activities. 2) Provide skills-based mentored research experiences. 3) Provide specific opportunities to implement STEM-H career planning in collaboration with and through personalized coaching from faculty, and “peers” (UNM STEM Gateway undergraduates and returning C-STEPS alumni in Years 2-5) and “near-peers” (graduate students, post-doctoral fellows); including preparation of individual development plans, which foster career development. C-STEPS will increase the number of undergraduates pursuing graduate or professional schools, and ultimately research careers thereby addressing a national priority for well-trained STEM-H professionals in cancer and health focused careers.