Pediatric Oncology Research Training Program

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The aim of this inter-disciplinary Pediatric Oncology Research Training (PORT) T32 application is to recruit and prepare highly qualified, motivated, and diverse physicians for a research-intensive career in Pediatric Oncology. Multiple reports have emphasized the dire shortage of pediatric oncologists that are well trained in laboratory or clinical research, those who will advance the field and be the next generation of leaders in enhancing care of children with cancer. It is increasingly important to retain the best and brightest trainees in research careers. Our PORT Program is integrated within our NCI-designated Cancer Center Consortium, comprising three academic partner institutions: the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC), Seattle Children’s Hospital (SCH), and the University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSOM). This provides an unparalleled infrastructure to build on the 52-year history of our fellowship training program and 43 years of continuous funding of this T32 grant and continue to train the future leaders in pediatric oncology by recruiting the candidates with the highest academic ceiling and arming them with the most advanced research tools to ensure successful transition to independent research careers. This training program is available only to MD or MD-PhD-prepared applicants who have strong interest in a research-intensive career and provides opportunities for training in laboratory- based science as well as clinical research in outcome/survivorship/health disparity research. It offers support for 2 years of research training for 2 physician/scientists enrolled each year who have completed their first 12 months of clinical training in our ACGME-approved Pediatric Hematology Oncology Fellowship Program. Most of the trainee’s time is spent conducting research under the direct supervision of a faculty mentor(s) selected by the trainee with guidance from a specially selected Research Oversight Committee and the Executive Committee of the T32. Our program provides didactic teaching and a strong foundation in research design, develops the trainees’ ability to conceptualize and solve research problems, encourages increasing independence, provides training in state-of-the-art analytical techniques, requires trainees to present their research findings at scientific meetings and publish their results, and conveys an understanding of the relationship of the trainee’s research to health and disease. Our program consists of talented, well-funded and well-published mentors who are deployed across specific research pathways to expose trainees to diverse scientific questions, methodologies, and disease models. Longitudinal evaluation of the fellows and the program by Scholar Oversight Committees to ensure optimal training for the trainee and External Advisory Committee to help review and improve the program is intrinsic to the training program. Multiple institutional resources to enhance career development are available to allow all trainees to develop a customized training plan. Researchers trained in this program will be exceptional physician-scientists who are prepared for a career in a research-intensive setting in pediatric oncology, with highly developed research skills in cancer biology, diagnosis, prevention, therapy, and outcomes.