Collaborative Program in Nutrition and Cancer Prevention (PNCP)

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This is the second revision of a R25 application in response to PAR-03-148, to establish a Collaborative Program In Nutrition and Cancer Prevention (PNCP). The program would provide a new individualized, multi mentored, and multidisciplinary approach to postdoctoral research training and career development in nutrition and cancer prevention. Support is requested for the development and implementation of a curriculum- and tutorial-based learning program to train four postdoctoral fellows (MD & PhD) in research settings that offer molecular, biological, clinical, epidemiological, and clinical research opportunities in a high intensity environment. This program will involve sustained leadership and dedicated commitment of selected faculty who will organize the specialized curriculum and work with the PNCP fellows and their mentors to enable each to achieve their research and career development objectives. This proposed program will utilize the resources of the Clinical Nutrition Research Unit and Collaborative Core Laboratories (CNRU), funded since 1980 (current cycle: 4/1/03 - 3/31/07) and now based at Strang Cancer Prevention Center. Trainees in proposed PNCP program will have access to the Core Laboratories of the CNRU, which can provide foundational research training or support specific projects undertaken in the laboratories of PNCP mentors. The PNCP will have an Advisory Committee to select qualified applicants and advise on program directions and a Curriculum Development Committee (Curriculum Committee). The overall goal is to foster individualized training of the PNCP fellows as the next generation of investigators in nutrition and cancer. This structured yet flexible program includes both didactic as well as research mentoring components over a two to three year period. In the first year, trainees will receive a three-part curriculum, take additional elective courses, and develop and start a project. After this initial phase, work will center on the fellow's project with emphasis on hypothesis development, experimental design, participation in specific elective courses and relevant tutorials, and grant and manuscript preparation. Minority fellows will be recruited by working closely with the Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Equal Opportunity Programs at Weill Medical College. The entire program will undergo continuous evaluation by the Advisory Committee and the Curriculum Committee. This tri-institutional collaborative proposal is supported by unmatched resources, including a strong faculty, focused on cancer prevention, state-of-the-art scientific laboratories and facilities, and a large pool of highly qualified applicants. Advancing the careers of a new generation of highly promising investigators in nutrition and cancer prevention should benefit public health by reducing the suffering and deaths due to cancer and its treatment.