Career Enhancement

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The most critical resource of any cancer center are the diverse and talented researchers, clinicians, trainees, and staff that drive the mission of the organization. The Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center (HCCC) has established and supported a robust Office of Cancer Career Enhancement and Training (OCCET) to facilitate the education and training of researchers, clinicians, trainees, staff, and community providers. The overall goal of the HCCC OCCET is to establish and foster infrastructure that coordinates and facilitates educational opportunities to enhance the careers of cancer researchers, clinicians, and community providers. OCCET initiatives include summer research programs, graduate programs, an annual research retreat, HCCC- supported seminar series, and support for staff participation in national conferences. These programs are targeted towards multiple levels of training, from “from teens to tenure” and beyond. The OCCET is committed to enhancing the inclusion of underrepresented minorities and trainees from lower socioeconomic households and rural populations who represent a significant untapped pool of talent from our catchment area. As a matrix cancer center, the HCCC's educational initiatives are integrated with other educational programs at the University of Iowa (UI) and are designed to leverage, but not duplicate, institutional career enhancement efforts. The OCCET also provides the framework for intra- and interprogrammatic interactions and collaborations between researchers in the HCCC's four research programs. The OCCET is led by the Associate Director for Career Enhancement, Jon Houtman, PhD and supported by the Assistant Director for Career Enhancement, Gregory Thomas, PhD, and staff at the HCCC. The staff in the OCCET are advised by several committees, including the Career Enhancement Advisory Committee, composed of leaders of training grants and graduate programs and representatives of various trainee groups. The efforts of the OCCET are 1) to establish and maintain a robust cancer career enhancement and training infrastructure at the HCCC by fostering the career enhancement infrastructure responsible for the training of HCCC trainees, faculty, staff, and community providers and integrating these efforts into wider programs at both UI and within the HCCC catchment area, 2) to assure quality training and mentoring of diverse trainees at all stages of training by supporting the development of a cancer workforce through training initiatives at every career stage, and 3) to facilitate educational and career enhancement opportunities for trainees, faculty, clinicians, and staff of the HCCC and across Iowa by facilitating existing, and generating new, opportunities for learning and scientific discussion at all levels including trainees, faculty, clinicians, and staff at the HCCC, as well as at other stakeholders both within and outside the HCCC catchment area.