South Carolina Cancer Health Equity Consortium (SC CHEC): Summer Undergraduate Research Training Program

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 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), the University of South Carolina (USC), and three historically black colleges/universities - Claflin University (CU), South Carolina State University (SCSU), and Voorhees College (VC) - have joined forces under the larger aegis of the South Carolina Cancer Health Equity Consortium (SC CHEC) to develop this application for an R25E NIH/NCI Cancer Education Grants Program. Together, these institutions have created an innovative, inter-institutional, 14-week summer course. This is combined with a hands-on laboratory research training platform and career mentoring by some of the nation's leading cancer researchers to attract and catalyze a new generation of diverse biomedical scientists. Within this new five-year initiative, 80 undergraduate juniors and seniors (designated as SC CHEC Student Fellows) from USC, CU, SCSU, and VC will engage with investigators at the MUSC Hollings Cancer Center, a National Cancer Institute (NCI) designated cancer center, to expose them to the latest advances in biomedical research spanning basic, clinical, and population sciences with an emphasis on cancer disparity dynamics in South Carolina (SC). The curriculum and training of this new initiative are focused on four of the most disparate cancers in terms of incidence, morbidity, and mortality in SC - breast, prostate, head/neck, and cervical cancer. Health outcomes for patients diagnosed with these four cancers are strongly influenced by race, ethnicity, urban/rural residence, socioeconomic position, and potentially biology. This R25E program's primary strategy will employ in-person classroom and laboratory instruction within the context of contemporary scientific approaches to cancer research at MUSC. These will be complemented by selected clinical and biotechnology-focused rotations, community engagement, and Graduate Record Examination preparation. The SC CHEC leadership strongly believes that promoting interest, career development, and commitment from the Millennial Generation (those born in the 1990s) to cancer biomedical and biobehavioral research is a critical step to attaining health equity and improved health outcomes in SC and beyond.