Cancer Education Program

描述（由申请人提供）：癌症教育计划将通过在一个综合性癌症中心参加为期八周的研究助理，向30名一年级和二年级的医学生介绍肿瘤学和生物医学研究领域。医学生有机会在教师导师的指导下参与基础实验室和临床研究项目的开发和实施。实验室研究项目集中在以下之一：分子生物学，细胞生物学，细胞生物化学和生物物理学，免疫学，分子药理学和治疗学，临床研究，以及癌症控制和预防。临床研究项目侧重于：癌症的诊断和治疗，癌症流行病学，癌症控制和预防，心理社会研究，支持性护理和生活质量问题，癌症信息外展。其目标是鼓励未来的职业生涯在肿瘤学和研究。 该教育计划为许多学生提供了他们最初的生物医学研究经验，在致力于研究致癌基本机制的环境中，重点是将发现快速转化为患者护理。学生在医学培训早期获得有关肿瘤学研究理论和方法的知识和见解。学生的评价表明，他们对医学研究职业的兴趣在完成该计划后有所增加。 对于许多学生来说，奖学金也是他们第一次接触肿瘤学领域。许多学生开始癌症教育计划时，对与癌症患者一起工作有些担心，接触临床癌症护理的现实可以改变这一点。虽然研究项目侧重于癌症的各个方面和不同的方法来管理疾病，过去的学生的总结突出了他们对预防制度的重要性，早期发现的价值，以及疾病的许多表现可以控制的知识有了更深的理解。对该计划的评估表明，完成后，学生对癌症的态度更加积极。通过他们的暑期经历，许多人发现了实验室科学与其直接临床应用之间存在的联系。 特别努力招收代表性不足的少数民族学生参加这一计划，以促进医学培训，研究和临床护理的更大多样性。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Cancer Education Program will introduce thirty first and second year medical students to the fields of oncology and biomedical research through participation in an eight-week research assistantship in a comprehensive cancer center. Medical students are provided an opportunity to participate in development and conduct of basic laboratory and clinical research projects under the guidance of a faculty mentor. Laboratory research projects concentrate on one of the following: molecular biology, cell biology, cellular biochemistry and biophysics, immunology, molecular pharmacology and therapeutics, clinical research, and cancer control and prevention. Clinical research projects focus on: diagnosis and treatment of cancer, cancer epidemiology, cancer control and prevention, psychosocial studies, supportive care and quality of life issues, cancer information outreach. The goal is to encourage future careers in oncology and research. This education program provides many of the students with their initial biomedical research experience, in an environment dedicated to research on basic mechanics of carcinogenesis with an emphasis on rapid translation of discoveries to patient care. Students gain knowledge and insights pertaining to oncology research theory and methodology early in their medical training. Student evaluations indicate that their interest in a career in medical research is increased following completion of this program. For many students, the fellowship is also their first exposure to the field of oncology. Many students begin the cancer education program with some apprehension about working with cancer patients, and exposure to the realities of clinical cancer care can change this. Although research projects focus on various aspects of cancer and different approaches to managing the disease, past students' summaries highlight their greater understanding of the importance of preventive regimes, the value of early detection, and a knowledge that many of the manifestations of the disease can be controlled. Evaluations of the program indicate upon completion that student attitudes about cancer are more positive. Through their summer experiences, many have discovered the connection that exists between bench science and its direct clinical application. Special efforts are made to recruit underrepresented minority students into this program, to promote greater diversity in medical training, research and clinical care.