Research Education Core

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RESEARCH EDUCATION CORE – ABSTRACT The overall objective of the Chicago Cancer Health Equity Collaborative (ChicagoCHEC) Research Education Core (REC) is to increase the number of students from underrepresented populations engaged in cancer research by fostering meaningful research, education, and community engaged experiences which link faculty and students of the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU), and the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University (NU-LCC). For this Core, we define students as high school through postdoctoral fellows. Between 2016 – 2019, the REC launched research education experiences bringing together diverse students across the Chicagoland area, developed curricula introducing students to the science of cancer disparities, and built robust networks with high school and local community college students to encourage their entry into REC programs. In that period, the REC provided structured summer research education experiences through the ChicagoCHEC Research Fellows (CHEC Fellows) Program to 65 students from minority and underrepresented backgrounds. The CHEC Fellows Program is an intensive 8-week summer program that introduces students to a breadth of cancer health disparities research topics and to the work of leading cancer researchers, provides hands-on engagement with community partners, and builds professional skills as a foundation for lifelong learning. In this renewal, we seek to sustain the successes of the CHEC Fellows Program and add programming to further student entry into cancer research trajectories and further meet the needs of students within ChicagoCHEC sponsored Projects. Thus, the CHEC Fellows Program will be complemented by development of new career readiness and career development supports, and an expansion of ChicagoCHEC Laboratory Experiences and Programs (LEaP), which matches students, including graduates of the CHEC Fellows Program, to intensive, one-on-one mentored immersion experiences in cancer research laboratories. A diverse and exceptional tri-institutional team of cancer research faculty has been assembled to lead the REC in achieving its specific aims, which are to: (1) develop curriculum and support professional development opportunities to increase Chicago area undergraduate interest and readiness in entering the cancer research career pipeline; (2) refine and sustain the CHEC Fellows and LEaP Programs for diverse undergraduate students recruited from NEIU, UIC, NU, and City Colleges of Chicago; (3) link underrepresented students (undergraduates, graduate/medical students and postdoctoral fellows) to mentored cancer research experiences within ChicagoCHEC Projects and provide career development support; and (4) implement continuous tracking and program evaluation. Initiatives of the ChicagoCHEC REC will directly introduce students to cancer research and enhance their capacity to seek out opportunities that will enable them to pursue meaningful, highly effective careers in this field.