Interdisciplinary Cancer Prevention Research Internship Program

描述（由申请人提供）：据估计，癌症预防策略的开发和有效应用可以大幅减少癌症死亡。有必要通过加强风险评估、系统生物学、行为改变、环境和政策影响、医疗和营养方法等方面的研究工作，加快癌症预防干预措施的发现、开发和实施。为了满足这一需求，需要在研究人员的职业生涯早期，就与癌症预防研究相关的问题进行广泛的跨学科方法的培训和教育。一个癌症预防跨学科教育计划（CPIP）的建议，建立在普渡大学癌症预防跨学科研究的重点和专业知识。中心假设是，在癌症预防的本科生和研究生跨学科课程的发展将：1）增加在追求研究生学习和随后的职业生涯在癌症预防研究的兴趣; 2）提供接触到该领域的各个方面在一个关键的时间准备学生更好地处理研究问题，和3）准备这些学生成功的职业生涯在癌症预防研究。这些假设将通过两个具体目标进行测试：1）为本科生开发和测试一个跨学科课程，这将创建一个新的科学家库，他们将有效地解决癌症预防的研究问题; 2）为研究生开发和测试一个跨学科课程，这将创建一个新的科学家库，他们将有效地解决癌症预防的研究问题。这两个学生群体将参加一个课程，介绍跨学科广泛的癌症预防研究的具体问题，参加以社区为基础的服务学习项目，以解决癌症预防问题，并完成指导研究项目与癌症预防的重点。研究团队的跨学科优势和跨学科研究的实质性机构支持，这个项目，创新的学习项目和校园范围内对癌症预防研究的关注，使普渡大学成为开发和测试拟议的创新课程的理想场所。该课程的开发、测试和传播将加强全国范围内癌症预防研究领域的努力。因此，增加了解癌症预防研究跨学科问题的科学家人才库将大大促进制定癌症预防战略和减少癌症死亡的进展，这与国家癌症研究所的使命是一致的。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): It is estimated that development and effective application of cancer prevention strategies could substantially reduce cancer deaths. There is a need to accelerate the discovery, development, and delivery of cancer prevention interventions by enhancing research efforts focused on risk assessment, systems biology, behavior modifications, environmental and policy influences, medical and nutritional approaches. To address this need, training and education for researchers, early in their careers, in issues relevant to cancer prevention research with a broad interdisciplinary approach is required. A Cancer Prevention Interdisciplinary education Program (CPIP) is proposed, building on the focus and expertise of cancer prevention interdisciplinary research at Purdue University. The central hypothesis is that development of an undergraduate and graduate interdisciplinary program in cancer prevention will: 1) increase interest in the pursuit of graduate studies and subsequent careers in cancer prevention research; 2) provide exposure to all aspects of the field at a critical time to prepare students to better approach research problems, and 3) prepare these students for successful careers in cancer prevention research. These hypotheses will be tested by two specific aims: 1) Develop and test an interdisciplinary curriculum for undergraduates that will create a new pool of scientists who will effectively address research problems in cancer prevention; and 2) Develop and test an interdisciplinary curriculum for graduate students that will create a new pool of scientists who will effectively address research problems in cancer prevention. Both student populations will participate in a curriculum to introduce issues specific to cancer prevention research across broad interdisciplinary lines, participate in community-based service learning projects to address issues in cancer prevention and also complete mentored research projects with a cancer prevention focus. The interdisciplinary strengths of the research team and substantial institutional support for interdisciplinary research and this project, innovative learning projects and a campus wide focus on cancer prevention research makes Purdue University an ideal site to develop and test the proposed innovative curriculum. Development, testing and dissemination of this curriculum will enhance efforts in the cancer prevention research field nation wide. Subsequently, increasing the pool of scientists with an understanding of the interdisciplinary issues in cancer prevention research will greatly enhance the progress to develop cancer prevention strategies and reduce cancer deaths, consistent with the mission of the National Cancer Institute.