Empowering the Next Generation of Cancer Professionals: the Fox Chase Cancer Center-University of Delaware Partnership for Undergraduate Research and Career Development

项目总结 癌症保健提供者和研究人员的数量预计不会跟上老龄化的步伐 美国的人口，创造了教育和激励下一代癌症的当务之急 专业人士。体验式研究实验室实习已被证明是一种有效的方式 激励学生从事癌症研究，但此类项目的数量和数量往往有限 影响范围，从而阻碍他们影响本科课程选择和长期职业目标的潜力。 此外，这种经历并不强调关键的辅助技能，如科学素养、设计和 发布海报和研讨会，以及建立关系网。特拉华大学福克斯·蔡斯癌症中心 暑期奖学金计划旨在为12名本科生提供为期10周的高强度住宿 暑期实习的重点是获得基本的实验室技能，这是一种为 学生的兴趣，以及在专业发展方面的辅助性培训和指导。学生们将成为 通过对中心为期一天的介绍性接触，招募到该项目，其中将包括简短的研究 实验室轮换和讨论以癌症为重点、以STEM为基础的职业；这次介绍性访问向所有人开放 特拉华大学文理学院的学生。项目成功的衡量标准将是 通过每周与导师和学生的会议，实习前和实习后的评估，以及长期- 学生职业决定的学期跟踪。通过这项计划，我们的目标是将学生纳入癌症 研究社区，激励他们追求对正在进行的抗癌斗争至关重要的职业，以及 让他们具备作为专业人士取得成功所需的工具。

PROJECT SUMMARY The number of cancer healthcare providers and researchers is not expected to keep pace with the aging population of the United States, creating an imperative to educate and motivate the next generation of cancer professionals. Experiential research laboratory internships have been shown to be an impactful way to incentivize students toward careers in cancer research, but often such programs are limited in number and scope, thus impeding their potential to influence undergraduate course selection and long-term career goals. Moreover, such experiences do not emphasize critical ancillary skills, such as scientific literacy, designing and presenting posters and seminars, and networking. The Fox Chase Cancer Center-University of Delaware Summer Fellowship Program seeks to provide twelve underclassmen with a residential, intensive 10-week summer internship focused on basic laboratory skill acquisition, a cancer research experience tailored to the student's interests, and complementary training and guidance in professional development. Students will be recruited to this program via an introductory, day-long exposure to the Center, which will include brief research laboratory rotations and discussion of cancer-focused, STEM-based careers; this introductory visit is open to all University of Delaware students in the College of Arts and Sciences. Metrics of programmatic success will be obtained through weekly meetings with mentors and students, pre- and post-internship evaluations, and long- term tracking of student career decisions. Through this program, we aim to incorporate students into the cancer research community, inspire them to pursue careers that are critical in the ongoing battle against cancer, and equip them with the tools required to succeed as professionals.