Developing an Oncology Workforce for the 21st Century

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The University of Chicago has long recognized the importance of physician scientists capable of utilizing laboratory discoveries to evolve novel therapeutic approaches and using clinical observations to inform and shape basic investigations. The University has an enviable record of training the next generation of academic oncologists. However, the training of academic leaders with critical expertise in clinical and translational research has become increasingly difficult, mandating the creation of a tightly structured and mentored training environment. Leveraging our current training programs (CTSA, K30 award, non-Roadmap K12 awards, traditional T32 training, K08/K23 mentoring programs), we will create an interdisciplinary program in patient-oriented research to train clinicians and basic scientists to lead interdisciplinary teams that will transform the practice of oncology. The Paul Calabresi K12 Scholars Program is our highly mentored, didactic coursework-intensive program, and "hands on" clinical research training which results in a Master of Science in Health Studies. These scholars are clinical oncologists finishing fellowship training, clinical faculty who wish to change career emphasis, or a scientist with a health-related PhD who wishes to work in the clinical sphere. The strength of our clinical programs coupled with our research intensity and our focus on genetics/genomics research makes the University of Chicago an ideal institution for the preparation of a clinical oncology workforce for the era of personalized medicine. Through this training program will emerge bonafide translational researchers and clinical oncologists who will possess the knowledge and capacity to conduct bench to bedside research and translate their findings back to patients and the population. It is our expectation that individuals completing this program will have obtained the broad research training and comprehensive experience necessary to perform high quality and high impact hypothesis-based clinical and translational research and to make fundamental contributions towards the goal of personalized cancer treatment. An explicit goal of this Paul Calabresi Scholars program, as with all training programs in our institution, is that its training opportunities and benefits will extend far beyond the relatively few scholars whose stipends it will provide. We are confident that the program will reach into the larger oncology trainee community at our University and in Chicago and to young scientists pursuing careers in cancer research all over the globe. Thus, the benefit that accrues from the program's implementation will be substantial.