Cancer Research Training and Education Coordination

CANCER RESEARCH TRAINING AND EDUCATION COORDINATION: ABSTRACT The Stephenson Cancer Center (SCC) is Oklahoma’s only NCI-designated cancer center and plays a critical mission-driven role in training the next generation of cancer biomedical researchers and oncology health professionals for the state (the SCC catchment area) and for the nation. To advance this goal, the SCC’s Education, Training and Career Enhancement (ETCE) Core, led by Rajagopal Ramesh, PhD, SCC Associate Director for Education and Training, provides important oversight, coordination and support for a wide range of educational and mentorship activities for students and trainees in all career stages (high school, undergraduate, graduate, postdoctoral fellows, clinical fellows, and junior investigators) conducting cancer-related projects. The SCC has made significant investments in ETCE infrastructure and resources and has leveraged OUHSC institutional resources to promote and advance training and career development. During the reporting period (2017-21), ETCE has made significant progress in advancing its goal and aims, as is highlighted through increases to training funding. Total peer-reviewed training funding increased by 109%, from $983K to $2.05M, since last CCSG (annual, direct cost). This includes seven new NIH K awards, two new NIH F awards, and two new P20 Centers for Biomedical Research Excellence (COBREs). A third new $7.5M (total, DC) COBRE grant to mentor junior SCC cancer imaging researchers started 2/15/22 (new funding not included in totals). Total all training funding increased by 115%, from $1.07M to $2.29M. The overall number of all training projects increased from 11 (2016) to 33 (2021). With ETCE support, the SCC obtained an American Cancer Society-Institutional Research Grant (ACS-IRG), the only such grant awarded nationally by ACS in 2019, to support young investigator research. The ETCE Core administers summer research programs for high school (CURE, Jr.) and undergraduate (CURE) students, and it has partnered with multiple institutional entities at OUHSC to bring a cancer research focus to various other summer internship (e.g., CRISP, INBRE, NARCH, SURE) as well as mentoring (INBRE, COBRE, OSCTR) programs.