Yale/NCI Cooperative Training Program in Cancer Epidemiology

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal is to continue a highly successful graduate partnership program (GPP) whose overall goal is to train the best and brightest students in the area of lifestyle and environmental determinants of human cancer risk. The proposal consists of a partnering between academicians and NIH intramural scientists, with the primary partners in this arrangement being Yale University's Department of Epidemiology and Public Health (EPH), and the National Cancer Institute's Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG). This unique partnership draws upon the academic strengths of Yale University, the resources and expertise at NCI, and the research strengths of these two institutions, both of which are internationally known for their research in cancer epidemiology and genetics. The cooperative training program trains students in modern methodologies for evaluating lifestyle determinants of human cancer risk, with an emphasis on nutritional, environmental, and occupational determinants including their interactions with genetic factors. Pre-doctoral candidates selected into this unique training program are jointly mentored by Yale faculty and NCI investigators. Upon matriculation, pre-doctoral candidates receive up to 2 years of didactic instruction at EPH, which is an accredited School of Public Health. Coursework emphasizes methods training in epidemiology and biostatistics, with content training in a variety of areas including cancer epidemiology, nutritional epidemiology, environmental / occupational epidemiology, molecular and genetic epidemiology, and cancer biology. At the end of the didactic experience, students take their qualifying exams at Yale, and then subsequently relocate to the NCI. Students identify a thesis topic, write a thesis prospectus, and identify a Dissertation Advisory Committee comprised of two faculty members from Yale (at least one of whom is a senior mentor) and two from NCI. Students meet all requirements for the Ph.D. at Yale, which includes a one-year teaching assistant (TA) experiential requirement. The pre-doctoral training program is administered by a Steering Committee with representation from both EPH and DCEG. Graduates of this program are uniquely qualified to be future leaders in the field of cancer epidemiology and genetics.