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。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，加速癌症预防干预措施的发现、开发和提供。为了满足这一需求，需要在研究人员职业生涯的早期对他们进行与癌症预防研究有关的问题的培训和教育，并采用广泛的跨学科方法。基于普渡大学癌症预防跨学科研究的重点和专业知识，提出了一个癌症预防跨学科教育项目（CPIP）。中心假设是癌症预防的本科和研究生跨学科项目的发展将：1)增加对癌症预防研究的研究生学习和后续职业的兴趣；2)在关键时刻提供接触该领域各个方面的机会，使学生更好地处理研究问题，3)为这些学生在癌症预防研究方面的成功职业做好准备。这些假设将通过两个具体目标来验证：1)为本科生开发和测试跨学科课程，这将培养一批新的科学家，他们将有效地解决癌症预防方面的研究问题；2)为研究生开发和测试一门跨学科课程，这将培养一批新的科学家，他们将有效地解决癌症预防方面的研究问题。这两个学生群体都将参加一个课程，在广泛的跨学科领域介绍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，解决癌症预防问题，并完成以癌症预防为重点的指导研究项目。研究团队的跨学科优势、对跨学科研究和本项目的大量机构支持、创新学习项目以及对癌症预防研究的广泛关注，使普渡大学成为开发和测试拟议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中跨学科问题的科学家数量将大大促进制定癌症预防策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.