Interdisciplinary Cancer Prevention Research Internship Program

描述(由申请人提供)：据估计，癌症预防策略的发展和有效应用可以大大减少癌症死亡人数。有必要通过加强侧重于风险评估、系统生物学、行为改变、环境和政策影响、医疗和营养方法的研究工作，加快癌症预防干预措施的发现、开发和交付。为了满足这一需求，需要在与癌症预防研究相关的问题上，对职业生涯早期的研究人员进行广泛的跨学科方法的培训和教育。在普渡大学癌症预防跨学科研究的重点和专业知识的基础上，提出了一个癌症预防跨学科教育计划(CPIP)。中心假设是，癌症预防本科生和研究生跨学科课程的发展将：1)增加对研究生学习和随后的癌症预防研究职业生涯的兴趣；2)在关键时刻提供对该领域所有方面的接触，为学生更好地解决研究问题做准备；以及3)为这些学生在癌症预防研究领域的成功职业生涯做好准备。这些假设将通过两个具体目标来检验：1)为本科生开发和测试跨学科课程，将创建一批新的科学家，他们将有效地解决癌症预防方面的研究问题；以及2)为研究生开发和测试跨学科课程，将创建一批将有效地解决癌症预防研究问题的新科学家。这两个学生群体都将参加一个课程，介绍广泛的跨学科领域的癌症预防研究的具体问题，参与以社区为基础的服务学习项目，以解决癌症预防问题，并完成以癌症预防为重点的指导性研究项目。研究团队的跨学科优势和对跨学科研究和本项目的大量机构支持、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地点。该课程的开发、测试和传播将在全国范围内加强癌症预防研究领域的努力。随后，根据国家癌症研究所的使命，增加了解癌症预防研究中跨学科问题的科学家队伍，将极大地促进制定癌症预防战略和减少癌症死亡的进展。

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.