Cancer Research Training and Education Coordination

PROJECT SUMMARY – Cancer Research Training and Education Coordination (CRTEC) Established in August 2017, the University of Southern California (USC) Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center (NCCC) Office of Cancer Research Training and Education Coordination (CRTEC) coordinates 19 different cancer training and education initiatives within the NCCC: nine (47%) programs are NCI funded. CRTEC initiatives start in elementary school and span the training continuum from undergraduate students to junior faculty. CRTEC is led by the NCCC Associate Director for Training and Education, Yves DeClerck MD, and relies on the advice of an Internal CRTEC Advisory Committee of nine members and a T32 grant coordinating committee of four T32 Principal Investigators, all of whom are NCCC members. CRTEC's mission is “To prepare the next generation of basic, translational, clinical and population scientists, with a focus on convergent science. This mission is achieved with four specific aims: 1) to train the next generation of researchers in the conduct of cancer convergent science; 2) to create a pipeline of integrated training and educational programs; 3) to develop innovative education programs for health care professionals and community cancer educators; and 4) to evaluate the impact of these programs on trainees' career evolution in the cancer field. Notable is the newly created Cancer Research Education and Training Evaluation (CREATE) centralized database at NCCC. During this grant period, CRTEC reached 77 undergraduate students, 214 graduate students, 51 post-graduate trainees, and 26 junior faculty members. Jointly with COE, CRTEC trained an additional 147 community health educators in our catchment area over the last 2 years. Notably, NCI training grant funding (direct costs, DC) increased by 37% over the current grant period (from $1.19M to $1.63M) and peer-reviewed funding increased by 14% (from $2.77M to $3.17M). The K-R Grant Club for junior faculty submitting their first grants led directly to $8.5M in peer-reviewed cancer research funding (DC), of which $6.1M is from NCI; four K-R Club trainees have received a score below the 10th percentile on their recent submissions and await funding decisions.