Molecular Oncology Training Program

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PROJECT SUMMARY This is a proposal to re-fund a recently established post-doctoral training program at Columbia University focused on training physicians in research techniques that will form the basis of careers in translational investigation of cancer biology, diagnosis and treatment. We will identify and recruit individuals with outstanding research potential who have completed clinical training in medical oncology and prepare them for productive careers as translational investigators in oncology. We will utilize a comprehensive two-year program comprised of didactics, workshops, small group sessions, coursework, including a possible master's degree, and individualized training within the research programs of Columbia University faculty to develop the careers of the participants. Funds are requested in a graded fashion to support up to 6 trainees annually. The Molecular Oncology Training Program faculty is comprised of 46 independent investigators who will provide direct supervision of the trainees. The faculty members are uniformly funded by the NCI, other branches of the NIH and other cancer-focused research organizations and have established themselves as thought-leaders in a broad range of cancer-related disciplines. Faculty members are divided into the main thematic areas of the training program: I) Precision Oncology and Systems Biology, II) Cancer Genomics and Epigenomics and III) Tumor Biology and Microenvironment. Participating faculty have been identified on the basis of their research productivity and quality, demonstrated collaboration with other investigators, often across research disciplines, and a history of supporting and developing research careers that transition beyond the post-doctoral level. The trainees will be chosen competitively from a highly select group of committed physician researchers on the basis of past accomplishments and their potential to develop careers as productive, independent translational investigators. The Molecular Oncology Training Program will be supported by the diverse research resources at Columbia University and the ongoing expansion and commitment to oncology that has included both laboratory and clinically focused research. The expansion was heralded by the opening of the Irving Cancer Research Center a 300,000 square-foot building within the Columbia University Irving Medical Center that is entirely dedicated to cancer research and the ongoing recruitment of leading clinical-translational research faculty to the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology. These changes have significantly broadened the diversity of research at Columbia University with a concomitant increase in quality that has established Columbia in the top tier of oncology programs and has attracted a pool of consummately trained physicians committed to careers in translational cancer biology.