Training Program in Nutrition and Cancer

描述（由申请人提供）：本研究培训计划的目的是提供跨学科研究和教学环境中的综合培训。该项目旨在为博士生和博士后提供机会，以加强他们在癌症病因学和预防方面的研究培训和经验，重点是饮食因素在癌症发展和保护中的作用。受训人员将接受培训，了解基因决定因素在改变饮食因素对癌症发展的影响方面的作用。学员将直接与经验丰富的导师一起在各种研究环境中工作，从实验室的基本机制研究到人群的观察性研究，再到测试食品（或膳食制剂）对癌症保护有效性的临床试验。培训课程包括癌症流行病学、营养学、癌症生物学、遗传和分子流行病学、生物统计学等核心课程，以及研究设计、实验室方法、人类和动物实验研究的教程。此外，将要求受训人员在第二个领域接受跨学科培训，完成专门针对个人需要的培训方案。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The purpose of this research training program is to provide integrated training in an interdisciplinary research and teaching setting. The program is directed toward providing opportunities for both predoctoral students and postdoctoral fellows to enhance their research training and experience in cancer etiology and prevention with an emphasis on the role of dietary factors on cancer development and protection. Trainees will be trained in understanding the role of genetically determined factors in modifying the effect of dietary factors on cancer development. Trainees will directly work with experienced mentors in a variety of research settings from the basic mechanistic studies in laboratory, to observational studies in populations, to clinical trials to test the effectiveness of food (or dietary agents) on cancer protection. The training program involves core courses in cancer epidemiology, nutrition, cancer biology, genetic and molecular epidemiology, biostatistics, and tutorials on research design, laboratory methods, and human and animal experimental studies. In addition, trainees will be required to have cross-disciplinary training in a second field by completion of a training program specifically tailored to the individual needs. This training program is a joint effort between the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health and the Nutrition Graduate Program. The participating faculty mentors are active members of the Epidemiology and/or Nutrition Graduate Programs who are currently conducting multiple funded studies investigating the role of diet or dietary constituents in cancer development and protection. Given the lack of such a program in the upper Midwest region of the United States, this training program is unique suited and highly needed. We propose this research training grant will support 3 predoctoral students and 3 postdoctoral fellows in year 1 and 4 predoctoral and 4 postdoctoral trainees in each of years 2-5. According to recent data on applicants to our Epidemiology and/or Nutrition Graduate Program, we will expect to have a relatively large pool of potential trainees who will apply to this training program given the excellence in research and teaching of participating faculty mentors and the proposed multidisciplinary training approach. The progress and success of the training program will be evaluated annually by a panel of experts in directing NCI-funded training programs. The career development and research activity of trainees will be closely followed up and tracked during the 10 years post-training. RELEVANCE: This training program will create a new generation of researchers superbly trained in two primary disciplines: epidemiology and nutritional science with deep understanding of cancer biology and genetics. This new generation of scientists will be competent to undertake multidisciplinary etiologic and preventive research on cancer and significantly advance our knowledge on Eliminating the Suffering and Death due to Cancer, the ultimate goal set forth by the National Cancer Institute (NCI).