San Diego State University Advancing Cancer Careers for ExceLlence (ACCEL)

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PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT San Diego State University’s Advancing Cancer Careers for ExceLlence (ACCEL) Program, in partnership with University of California San Diego (UCSD) Moores Cancer Center, will provide 70 SDSU postdoctoral fellows and graduate students each year with a coordinated and innovative array of resources to support excellence, inclusion and transformation of the cancer research science force. ACCEL will leverage existing infrastructure and develop new programming to a) expand and strengthen the pipeline of underrepresented (UR) scholars pursuing cancer research; and b) broaden SDSU’s capacity to support and advance UR pre- and postdoctoral cancer research scholars. Three distinct and complimentary aims have been developed to meet these larger objectives. Led by a Training Champion (TC) team with diverse areas of expertise, the ACCEL program will a) implement mentoring activities and community-building engagement that reduce feelings of isolation and increase sense of belonging to increase doctoral student and postdoctoral scholar participation and retention in cancer research; b) provide structured support services including skills development courses for doctoral students and postdoctoral scholars to broaden advancement in cancer research and promote diversity in the scientific workforce; and c) build tailored and sustainable linkages for SDSU students and scholars to existing support and resources through the National Cancer Institute and other partners. While ACCEL program development and implementation will benefit greatly from strong integration with existing partners and programs including the UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, SDSU-UCSD CREATE Cancer Partnership, and the NCI Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD) training navigation, ACCEL will also introduce innovative methodologies to address isolation and build community and belonging in tandem with skills building.