Cancer Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) in Oklahoma

Oklahoma (OK) has among the nation’s worst overall health outcomes and ranks seventh in the nation for cancer-related death per 100,000 people. Furthermore, the overall cancer mortality rate in OK is 14% higher than the national average, with significantly elevated mortality rates for specific cancers (lung, colorectal, cervical, and kidney and pelvic) compared to the overall USA rates. The higher cancer incidence and mortality rate in OK is attributed to high levels of poverty, disproportionately higher cancer incidence and mortality rates among the American Indian (AI) Oklahomans, high rates of tobacco use and poor dietary habits, and limited access to healthcare Another major challenge in OK is the inadequacy in its educational system, particularly in providing high-quality education and research infrastructure in schools and colleges. This has resulted in low numbers of our students entering graduate programs and STEM fields as they often lack sufficient research experience, which hinders their readiness to apply for graduate programs. To address these issues and reduce the cancer burden in OK, it is crucial to build the next generation of professionals and meet the nation’s biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research needs. To achieve this goal, the "Cancer Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) program in Oklahoma aims at producing a cadre of students equipped with training in cancer research that renders them able to matriculate into graduate or professional school. The specific objectives of the CURE program include: (1) Delivering a high-quality research training experience in cancer related-research. Participants will engage in cutting-edge research under the mentorship of 53 participating mentors performing basic-, prevention, tr anslational-, clinical-, behavioral science- or community engaged-research. (2) Providing comprehensive educational and career development program in cancer research. Participants will participate in a structured and rigorous educational curriculum that includes seminars, career guidance, research ethics, effective writing and communication skills, poster and oral presentation skills, peer-to-peer mentoring, and assistance in writing applications to graduate and professional schools. (3) Implementing a robust program evaluation to assess short- and long-term outcomes. This involves pre-and post-survey assessments to measure participant’s knowledge gains, tracking short-term outcomes such as feedback on course content and mentoring, and research experience, as well as matriculation into professional schools and retention in OK. Long-term outcomes involve monitoring participants’ career choices in cancer research, publications, awards, and honors.