Training the Next Generation of Researchers in Cancer Nanotechnology at the NCI M

描述(由申请者提供)：我们建议与地区临床合作者合作，在UIUC建立中西部癌症纳米技术培训中心(M-CNTC)。M-CNTC的目标将是培养下一代知识领袖，他们将定义纳米技术在癌症研究中的新前沿和应用。这一目标将通过创造一个高度跨学科的环境来实现，该环境教育并增强培训中心的学生和博士后研究员的领导作用，并应对癌症生物学、物理科学和纳米技术交叉领域的挑战。据了解，仅在2007年，美国就有超过150万人被诊断患有癌症，50万人死于癌症。尽管做出了相当大的努力，但自1950年以来，在减少人均癌症死亡方面取得的成功有限。这要求对癌症进化的理解、检测和干预从单细胞进化到肿瘤规模的范式转变。在这份M-CNTC提案中，我们响应了这一非常及时的需求，并组建了一支由UIUC的卓越跨学科研究人员和教育工作者组成的团队，以及该地区来自伊利诺伊大学芝加哥分校、梅奥诊所、印第安纳大学医学院和圣路易斯华盛顿大学的临床合作者，以培训下一代工程师、物理学和生物学家，以应对利用纳米技术的最新进步来理解、管理、诊断和治疗癌症的挑战。拟议的计划代表了一项高度协调和跨学科的努力，旨在教育UIUC和临床合作伙伴机构的科学家和工程师解决纳米技术在癌症研究中应用的重要问题。利用我们团队在纳米制造、成像、纳米材料和癌症生物学方面的专业知识，该计划预计将对癌症研究中使用的定量方法产生重大影响。我们独特的教育培训部分不仅将改变我们校园的研究生教育，还将成为该领域其他项目的经验性验证的典范。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We propose to establish a Midwest Cancer Nanotechnology Training Center (M-CNTC) at UIUC in collaboration with regional clinical collaborators. The goal of this M-CNTC will be to produce the next generation of intellectual leaders who will define the new frontiers and applications of nanotechnology in cancer research. This goal would be accomplished by creating a highly interdisciplinary environment which educates and empowers the students and post-doctoral fellows in the training center to take leadership roles and address the challenges at the cross-roads of cancer biology, physical sciences, and nanotechnology. It is known that more than a 1.5 million people were diagnosed with cancer and half a million died of cancer in US alone during 2007. In spite of a considerable effort, there has been limited success in reducing per capita deaths from cancer since 1950. This calls for a paradigm shift in the understanding, detection and intervention of the evolution of cancer from a single cell to tumor scale. In this M-CNTC proposal, we have responded to this very timely need and assembled a preeminent interdisciplinary team of researchers and educators across UIUC and clinical collaborators in the region from University of Illinois at Chicago, Mayo Clinic, Indiana University School of Medicine, and Washington University at St. Louis, to train the next generation of engineers, physical sciences, and biologists to address the challenge of understanding, managing, diagnosing, and treatment of cancer using the most recent advancements in nanotechnology. The proposed program represents a highly coordinated and interdisciplinary effort to educate scientists and engineers across UIUC and clinical partner institutions to tackle the important problems in applications of nanotechnology to cancer research. Taking advantage of the expertise in nanofabrication, imaging, nano-materials, and cancer biology in our team, the program is expected to significantly impact quantitative methods used in cancer research. Our unique educational training components will not only transform graduate education on our campus, but also to be an empirically validated model for other programs in this area.