Student-Centered Pathway to Advance Research and Cancer Careers

There is a pressing need to increase the number of skilled professionals in cancer research to better serve an increasingly distinct patient population and solve complex cancer-related health care challenges. Providing undergraduate students, a research experience and mentoring enhances retention in STEMM careers and improves academic success. Our overarching goal is to collaborate with community partners to identify and educate a group of undergraduate students who wish to develop careers in the biomedical, behavioral and clinical research fields. This program, Student-Centered Pathway to Advance Research and Cancer Careers (SPARCC), will recruit students (SPARCC scholars) from surrounding Milwaukee area institutions of higher learning. By providing financial stipends, individualized mentorship, and access to a wide professional network, SPARCC is designed to reduce barriers to participation and to ensure a psychologically safe learning environment. SPARCC is built on a foundation of experiential learning, culturally responsive pedagogy, and dedicated training of mentors. SPARCC scholars will participate in a 12-week program that includes cancer-focused mentored research, educational workshops, and practicum rotations. This education plan will introduce students to the complex multi-disciplinary environment of translational science. Students will gain knowledge and training in techniques required to bridge basic, preclinical and community research to patient care, including the role of clinical trials. During the practicum rotations, students will participate in culturally responsive care in clinical trials research through work in complex multidisciplinary teams. Basic and clinical researchers will facilitate workshops to discuss translational science and address questions. The individually mentored research project will be completed by all scholars with a poster presentation upon graduation at the SPARCC Cancer Networking and Research Summit and the Annual Cancer Center Trainee Symposium. Additional professional and academic counseling will ensure scholars’ ongoing success, and multiple strategies will actively engage each scholar to increase motivation, perseverance, and knowledge of complex subject matter and decrease stress and academic gaps. This program is a partnership among the Medical College of Wisconsin Medical School and Cancer Center and regional institutions of higher learning. The specific aims of SPARCC are to: 1) Recruit and retain undergraduate student cohorts in collaboration with community partners to participate in a cancer-focused research experience; 2) Engage in faculty-mentored cancer research experience, translational cancer workshops and clinical practicums; 3) Employ a mentor training program and provide mentee professional development opportunities; 4) Evaluate the programmatic components and scholar outcome during and long after their participation, concurrent with ongoing mentoring and continuous program improvement.