Training Program in Free Radical and Radiation Biology

描述(由申请人提供)：爱荷华大学放射肿瘤学的自由基和辐射生物学培训计划是为了提供跨学科的研究生和研究生培训，重点是六个关键的教育目标，为学员在生物医学研究和教育中的癌症相关领域的职业做准备；1)传授辐射生物学、自由基生物学和癌症生物学的基本知识；2)为学员提供机会，使他们精通辐射生物学、自由基生物学和分子肿瘤学学科，从而在癌症研究中取得成功；3)为学员构建研究经验，包括制定研究方案、执行研究项目和评估这些成果，以便在同行评审的出版物中提交；4)为学员提供学习必要知识和技能的经验，以便与临床和基础科学系的教员进行合作研究；5)为学员提供关键知识和基本技能，包括口头和书面科学交流；6)鼓励受训者在“真实世界”环境中采用创新方法，利用假设驱动的研究技术，测试放射生物学和氧化还原生物学现象与癌症生物学有关的基本机制，重点是开发新的干预措施，以限制癌症对健康的影响。 我们建议每年支持三名博士后和三名博士后实习生。我们拥有一支国际公认的教师队伍，在放射生物学和自由基癌症生物学研究者发起的研究奖项方面有着始终如一的成功记录。我们建议在培训计划中有15名导师，包括4名放射肿瘤学初级教员和11名中级教员；内科4名，解剖学和细胞生物学2名，微生物学、外科、病理学、耳鼻喉科和职业与环境卫生各1名。对学员的教育活动包括教师一对一的指导，与癌症相关的国家认可的研究项目，在全国会议上展示工作并接受反馈，2个期刊俱乐部/周，1个研讨会/周，1个翻译研究会议/周，以及项目中最先进的核心实验室资源的技术培训。该学院提供的正规研究生水平课程(博士前必修课)包括辐射、自由基和癌症生物学课程，以及侧重于图像引导癌症治疗的医学物理学课程。教师们正在进行的跨学科癌症相关研究涵盖了从基础机制研究到转化性临床前研究以及临床研究的广泛领域。该培训计划已有50年的历史，培养出从事癌症研究和自由基生物学工作的杰出科学家。 相关性：越来越多的证据表明，氧化还原生物学和由自由基(以及其他含有活性氧和氮的物种)介导的氧化应激是癌症发生、生长、侵袭、转移、治疗和预防的基本生化机制的因果关系。自由基生物学还与辐射生物学、癌症生物学、炎症和与衰老相关的退行性疾病的研究有很强的共同机制联系。因此，自由基和辐射生物学的跨学科研究生培训满足了国家对这一学科的科学家的需求，以开发基于机制的新方法来减少癌症对健康的影响，并教育这一领域的下一代基础和转化研究的领导者。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Free Radical and Radiation Biology Training Program in Radiation Oncology at the University of lowa was established to provide interdisciplinary graduate and post-graduate training with a focus on six key goals for education in preparation of trainees for careers in cancer-related fields within biomedical research and education; 1) To impart a fundamental understanding of the subject matter of radiation biology, free radical biology, and cancer biology; 2) To provide trainees with the opportunity to achieve proficiency in the radiation biology, free radical biology, and molecular oncology disciplines leading to successful careers in cancer research; 3) To structure research experience for trainees that includes the development of a research proposal, execution of a research project, and evaluation of these results for submission in peer-reviewed publications; 4)To offer trainees experience in learning the necessary knowledge and skills to do collaborative research with faculty in clinical and basic science departments; 5) To provide trainees with critical knowledge and essential skills in both oral and written scientific communication; and 6)To encourage trainees to implement innovative approaches in a "real world" environment to test, using hypothesis driven research techniques, the basic mechanisms underlying radiobiological and redox biology phenomena as they relate to cancer biology with an emphasis on developing novel interventions to limit the health related impact of cancer. We are proposing to support three predoctoral and three postdoctoral trainees per year. We have an internationally recognized faculty with a consistent track record of success in radiobiology and free radical cancer biology investigator initiated research awards. We propose to have 15 mentors in the Training Program including 4 primary faculty appointees from Radiation Oncology as well as 11 secondary faculty members; 4 from Internal Medicine, 2 from Anatomy and Cell Biology, and 1 each from Microbiology, Surgery, Pathology, Otolaryngology, and Occupational and Environmental Health. Educational activities for trainees includes one-on-one mentoring by faculty, cancer-related nationally recognized research projects, presenting work and receiving feedback at national meetings, 2 journal clubs/week, 1 seminar a week, 1 translational research meeting/week, and technical training in the state of-the-art core lab resources in the program. Formal graduate level coursework offered by the faculty (required for pre-docs) includes classes in radiation, free radical, and cancer biology as well as a course in medical physics with an emphasis on image guided cancer therapy. The interdisciplinary cancer related research being pursued by the faculty spans a wide spectrum from basic mechanistic studies to translational preclinical as well as clinical studies. The training program has a 50 year history of producing outstanding scientists working in cancer research and free radical biology. RELEVANCE: There is growing evidence that redox biology and oxidative stress mediated by free radicals (as well as other reactive oxygen and nitrogen containing species) are causally involved in basic biochemical mechanisms underlying the initiation, growth, invasion, metastasis, treatment, and prevention of cancer. Free radical biology also has strong common mechanistic links to the study of radiation biology, cancer biology, inflammation, and degenerative diseases associated with aging. Interdisciplinary graduate training in Free Radical and Radiation Biology therefore meets a national need for scientists in this discipline to develop novel mechanism based approaches to reduce the health effects of cancer as well as educate the next generation of leaders in this field of basic and translational research.