MD Anderson Summer Program in Cancer Research (SPCR)

PROJECT SUMMARY The Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis (EMC) at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has hosted a hands-on laboratory-based Summer Program in Cancer Research (SPCR) for academically accomplished undergraduates for more than 25 years. Participating faculty members are not only committed educators but also internationally recognized experts in the fields of cancer epigenetics, genetics and genomics. The goal of the SPCR is to provide talented undergraduate students with a research project-based laboratory experience and exposure to the different disciplines working to address the causes, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of cancer with an emphasis on epigenetic mechanisms. The overall Program objective is to promote careers in cancer research and clinical oncology, which is in line with the NCI mission to attract and train the best minds to become the next generation of cancer researchers. This goal will be accomplished through a formalized 10-week summer program in which students will undertake an individualized research project supervised by a faculty mentor. In addition to bench-side research, SPCR students will participate in a series of lectures, seminars, and discussion sessions to introduce them to core concepts in cancer biology and epigenetics. An epigenetics focused lecture series will cover “DNA methylation and Cancer,” “Histone code and Cancer,” “Artificial intelligence and bioinformatics in epigenetics research,” and “Cancer therapies targeting Epigenetic regulators,” which will be given by faculty members. “Works-in-Progress (WIP)” seminars, given by department faculty and trainees on their day-to-day research, will also be attended by the students. Discussion sessions led by WIP speakers and program directors with SPCR students immediately after these seminars will focus on the laboratory techniques utilized by the speaker, to introduce interns to methods relevant to epigenetics research. The Program incorporates several “field trip” experiences, designed to expand students’ horizons, such as a Graduate Student Research Day and a tour of the MD Anderson Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine, one of the premier non-human primate research facilities in the country and an important translational research component of MD Anderson. Students will also be exposed to career paths taken by diverse investigators at MD Anderson through a series of presentations entitled “Career Conversations.” In preparation for a culminating Scientific Symposium, where students present their research projects to departmental faculty, trainees, and staff, interns will learn how to organize a scientific presentation, including background information, hypothesis, methods, results, and conclusions, and will hone their oral communication skills. Past programmatic evaluations demonstrate that the SPCR is an important contributor to the career development of participating students and influenced their decision and ability to pursue graduate or other training leading to careers in cancer-related research and medicine.