Cancer Research Training & Education Coordination CRTEC

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CANCER RESEARCH TRAINING & EDUCATION COORDINATION (CRTEC): ABSTRACT The University of Kansas Cancer Center (KUCC) Cancer Research Training & Education Coordination (CRTEC) component coordinates and provides essential cancer-focused education, training, and career enhancement annually for >500 trainees and ~200 healthcare professionals. The CRTEC team and leadership (Danny Welch, PhD and Lisa Harlan-Williams, PhD) works closely with Community Outreach and Engagement (COE) and educators from four KUCC campuses to increase education and outreach to diverse populations and cultivates an environment of lifelong learning throughout our catchment area. KUCC faculty actively participate in training high school through post-graduate researchers in multiple biomedical and healthcare fields by coordinating and integrating cancer education at all KUCC campuses. KUCC faculty have developed new doctoral and certificate programs, provided research experiences (including for underrepresented populations (URP) in the Kansas City metropolitan area); provided medical and nursing continuing education curricula; developed specialized senior-to-junior mentoring and facilitated peer-to-peer career development; assisted with grant preparation for faculty and trainees, and supported trainee travel. CRTEC is leading institutional development of an integrated system for tracking and assessment of trainee outcomes. KUCC trainees have made discoveries in basic, translational, clinical, and population science, received numerous honors and awards, publications, and experienced >3-fold increase in extramural fellowship funding since NCI designation. CRTEC is guided by three aims: 1) Continuously enhance an infrastructure that facilitates center-wide training and educational programs that enrich collaborative and interdisciplinary basic, clinical, translational, and population-based cancer research by engaging investigators from multiple cancer-relevant research disciplines and backgrounds via a diverse collection of scientific and educational initiatives; 2) Provide cancer research education and career enhancement opportunities across the continuum of trainees and faculty, through stage-specific scientific and professional development activities that promote and sustain a strong pipeline of diverse investigators and cancer care providers; and 3) Prepare KUCC researchers to work with COE, community leaders and advocates, KUCC research programs and shared resources to educate learners and teachers within KUCC and throughout the catchment area. These aims will help fulfill the CRTEC vision – that learners receive high quality education, training, and mentoring so that a well-trained, motivated, diverse, and equitable workforce of investigators and care providers can reduce cancer burdens locally and beyond.