1/2 Addressing Rural Cancer Health Disparities: An SCC-SIUSM Partnership

 描述(由申请人提供)摘要(总体)：低收入农村社区经历了显著的癌症健康差距，包括较低的筛查率、更高的发病率、较晚的发现阶段、较差的生存率和较高的死亡率。南伊利诺伊大学医学院(SIUSM)及其西蒙斯癌症研究所为伊利诺伊州中部农村、南部农村和三角洲地区的大部分地区提供服务。这些农村社区的贫困率更高，医疗服务不足，癌症负担高得惊人。SIUSM已与NCI指定的圣路易斯华盛顿大学西特曼癌症中心(SCC)以及SCC的预防和控制计划建立了合作伙伴关系，该计划的标题是：解决农村癌症健康差距：SCC-SIUSM合作伙伴关系。为了准备这项申请，我们在2013年夏季启动了规划活动。这些协作规划活动包括共享讨论、双月执行电话会议、两个站点的面对面会议，以及SCC和SIUSM调查人员之间的早期协作研究工作。成立了一个由每个机构的代表和该区域的主要利益攸关方组成的内部咨询委员会，并积极规划这项申请。合作目标是：1)建设SIUSM癌症研究能力，并支持SIUSM教员过渡到NIH资助的癌症差异研究；2)为中高级研究人员提供从事跨机构癌症研究的机会，并增加SCC的农村癌症研究范围和能力；3)促进两个机构的博士后学者和初级教员的发展，以发展癌症差异研究的独立研究人员。我们将使用三种策略来实现这些目标：第一，新开发的试点研究计划现在允许初级研究人员获得研究种子资金、合作经验和未来NIH拨款的初步数据。这一由NCI PAR推动的不断增长的计划已经为一项正在进行的协作试验提供了资金，另一项试验也包括在此应用程序中。其次，SCC将为SIUSM教职员工和实习生提供参加SCC的研究研讨会和其他培训机会，并提供短期研究员交流计划。第三，在SCC正在进行的职业发展活动的基础上，两所院校将分享教师早期职业发展的战略。特别是，威斯康星大学公共卫生科学部提供为期10个月的人口健康科学硕士学位。我们将确定SIUSM的临床科学家，他们希望通过课程学习来培养这些研究技能。我们预计，这些培训活动可能会发展成为农村癌症差异研究的R25E或T32应用程序。在SCC及其公共卫生科学部世界级癌症研究和培训计划的基础上，以及SIUSM以农村为重点的使命及其发展人口健康科学研究的承诺的基础上，这一合作伙伴关系将为SIUSM培训和支持一批基础、临床和以人口为基础的科学家提供重要途径，重点是缓解农村癌症差异。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant) ABSTRACT (OVERALL): Low-income rural communities experience significant cancer health disparities, including lower screening rates, increased incidence, and later stage at detection, poorer survival, and higher mortality. The Southern Illinois University School of Medicine (SIUSM) and its Simmons Cancer Institute serve much of the central rural, southern rural, and Delta regions of Illinois. These rural communities have higher poverty rates and are medically underserved with disparately high cancer burden. SIUSM has established a partnership with the NCI-designated Siteman Cancer Center (SCC) at Washington University in Saint Louis (WUSTL), and SCC's Prevention and Control Program, entitled, Addressing Rural Cancer Health Disparities: An SCC-SIUSM PARTNERSHIP. To prepare for this application, we initiated planning activities in summer 2013. These collaborative planning activities included shared discussions, bi-monthly executive conference calls, in-person meetings at both sites, and early collaborative research efforts between SCC and SIUSM investigators. An Internal Advisory Committee comprised of representatives from each institution and key stakeholders from the region was formed and active in planning this application. The partnership goals are to: 1) build SIUSM cancer research capacity and support SIUSM faculty in transitioning to NIH-funded cancer disparities research, 2) provide opportunities for mid- and senior-level investigators to engage in cross- institutional cancer research and increase the rural cancer research scope and capacity at SCC, and 3) foster the development of post- doctoral scholars and junior faculty at both institutions to develop independent researchers in cancer disparities research. We will use three strategies to achieve these goals: First, a newly developed Pilot Research Program now allows junior investigators to gain research seed funding, collaborative experience and preliminary data for future NIH grants. This growing program prompted by this NCI PAR has already funded one on-going collaborative pilot, and another pilot is included in this application. Second, SCC will provide SIUSM faculty and trainees with access to research seminars and other training opportunities at SCC, and offer short-term investigator exchange programs. Third, building on career development activities ongoing at SCC, the two institutions will share strategies for faculty early career development. In particular, WUSTL's Division of Public Health Sciences offers a 10-month Master's degree in Population Health Science. We will identify clinician-scientists at SIUSM who want to build these research skills through coursework. We envision that these training activities may grow into an R25E or T32 application for rural cancer disparities research. Building on and leveraging the world-class cancer research and training programs at SCC and its Division of Public Health Science, and the rurally-focused mission of SIUSM and its commitment to develop population health science research, this Partnership will provide an important avenue for training and supporting a cadre of basic, clinical and population-based scientists at SIUSM with a focus on alleviating rural cancer disparities.