Curriculum for Patient-Oriented Clinical Cancer Research

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): With the paucity of effective new approaches for early diagnosis, prevention and treatment of cancer, it is anticipated that patient-oriented cancer research, a research discipline in which highly-trained professionals conduct research that directly involves patients or high-risk individuals, will lead to the next significant advances in the cancer field. Indeed, there is increasing recognition that the highly-trained patient-oriented cancer research scientist is essential to the translational process; i.e., application of the enormous knowledge obtained in the basic science laboratory to the clinic. Also important is the scientific, hypothesis-driven investigation of disease in the patient that leads directly to discoveries in the biology, pathophysiology and natural history of cancer in man. Perhaps most significant is the identification of innovative strategies for treatment and subsequent prevention of human disease which can be developed by those highly-trained patient-oriented research scientists. It is clear that this research discipline requires a specialized, more thorough education which encompasses molecular and cellular biology, pharmacology, clinical trial design, and biostatistics, as applied specifically to cancer, a devastating disease of tremendous heterogeneity and complexity. But such an educational program is not common and, therefore, the discipline of patient-oriented cancer research is under-represented at present. Recognizing the importance of this next generation of cancer researchers, it is the purpose of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Curriculum for Patient-Oriented Clinical Cancer Research Program to develop an effective training program that leads to highly-trained cancer researchers who will effectively bridge the gap between the laboratory bench and the patient bedside. This training program will provide a two-year series of state-of-the-art, relevant didactic lectures focused on oncology, mentored research experiences, and mentored programs for preparing grants, manuscripts, and protocols. Participation in the program will be open to residents, fellows, faculty, and graduate students whose career goals are oriented towards achievement in academic patient-oriented cancer research. Graduates of the program will have received the training necessary to conduct hypothesis-driven cancer research, disseminate the results of this research to the cancer community through publication in peer-reviewed journals and public presentations, and obtain peer-reviewed funding to support their work. These are indeed the hallmarks of the successful academic researcher who will make the next major advances in diagnosis, prevention and treatment of cancer.