NCCU-LCCC Partnership in Cancer Research

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ABSTRACT Title of Parent Award: NCCU-LCCC Partnership in Cancer Research Grant #: U54CA156735 PI: MICHELER Ricardo RICHARDSON, PHD This is a request for bridge funding toward the resubmission of the competing renewal application to continue the Comprehensive Partnership to Advance Cancer Health Equity (CPACHE) between North Carolina Central University (NCCU) and the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center (LCCC) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) entitled “NCCU/LCCC Partnership in Cancer Research”. Abstract for competing renewal of our existing NCI U54CA156735-10. The North Carolina Central University (NCCU) and the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center (LCCC) at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) will continue their effective and mutually beneficial partnership focusing on African-American health disparities. During the past decade, NCI funding has firmly established the Partnership building on complementary institutional strengths, conducting molecular and population-based cancer research and training of junior faculty and students. This Comprehensive Partnership to Advance Cancer Health Equity (CPACHE) application builds upon the foundation already established through the previous U54 funding to meet the challenge of disparities in cancer incidence and mortality in North Carolina and the US through cancer research, education and community outreach. Our goals are to: (1) strengthen cancer research capacity at NCCU providing NCCU scientists mentorship and collaborative opportunities to compete for NCI grants; (2) enrich the capacity of NCCU and LCCC to further explore mechanisms underlying the disproportionate incidence of cancer mortality and morbidity between African Americans and Caucasian Americans, using both molecular and population-based approaches; (3) increase the number of NCCU scientists focused on cancer research as well as the education of minority undergraduate and graduate students in cancer research; (4) increase the faculty at the UNC LCCC focused on minority disparities research; and (5) create long-term collaborations between basic, public health, and translational scientists from NCCU and UNC LCCC. The strengths of each institution are uniquely positioned to overcome the weaknesses found in the other to achieve these priorities. Specific collaborative components of the proposal include: One full and one pilot projects in community intervention and population science, one full and one pilot project in basic/translational cancer research in diseases with a higher incidence in African Americans, and 3 cores: Outreach, Research Education, and Histopathology. The partnership combines the expertise and resources of LCCC in population/public health sciences emphasizing disparities in North Carolina, genomics, cancer biology and cancer education and NCCU's demonstrated interest and facility with minority health disparities research particularly in Durham NC, the state-funded NCCU units that allow faculty release from teaching and the emphasis on reaching minority populations and developing the careers of, faculty and students. These complementary institutional strengths will assure that the Partnership builds the infrastructure necessary for a lasting collaborative research, effective community outreach and a substantial contribution to our understanding of minority disparities.