Cancer Prevention Training: Epidemiology, Nutrition, Genetics & Survivorship

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT – The interdisciplinary nature of the field of cancer prevention requires a broad spectrum of research skills. In the past 14 years, we have conducted a R25 Training Program which provided multidisciplinary training with emphasis on the relationships of human nutrition, exercise, genetics and related metabolic pathways in cancer susceptibility and prevention. We have had substantial success in trainee degree completion, minority recruitment, and placement of pre- and post-doctoral fellows in research-intensive positions. In this renewal, we are proposing to continue our training as a T32 program with emphasis on the relationships of nutrition, other lifestyle factors, genetics and metabolic pathways in cancer prevention, with an additional emphasis on survivorship. The objectives of this program are to provide trainees with 1) formal coursework in three fields: Epidemiology, Nutrition, and Genetics/Human Biology; trainees whose primary instruction is in one area will complete secondary training in another of these areas; 2) innovative and transdisciplinary research experiences in cancer prevention and survivorship research, with emphasis on human nutrition, genetics and associated metabolic pathways; and 3) skills and practice in grant writing, preparing scientific manuscripts, giving oral presentations and developing a long-term career plan, to promote preparation towards an independent research career. We propose to train 4 pre- and 3 post-doctoral trainees each year. Formal coursework and degrees will be based in three participating programs of the University of Washington: Epidemiology, Nutritional Sciences, and Public Health Genetics. Each trainee will complete a new curriculum developed by this Training Program, including that in a secondary area outside the field of his/her PhD. The curriculum has been continuously revised to reflect emerging areas in cancer biology, the rapidly changing technologies for genetic and biomarker assays and their integration in the broader public health context. Trainees will gain experience in cancer prevention research within three programs of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center: Cancer Prevention, Epidemiology, and Translational Research. Trainees will have access to the considerable research resources of these three programs, as well as to the 22 exceptional faculty mentors, all of whom have externally funded research in the areas of the Training Program. New mentors have been added as junior faculty members demonstrated research success and to add expertise in new areas (cancer survivorship, omics). Trainees will have mentors from at least two disciplines. The Program Director will be advised by a Steering Committee composed of leaders of the participating programs, as well as by an External Advisory Committee. Trainees who complete this program will have the knowledge and research capabilities to independently conduct cutting edge and impactful translational investigations; we expect that they will become the nation's leaders in cancer prevention research.