Catalyzing Cancer Research among Urban Underrepresented Minority Youths and Teachers (CATALYST)

Project Summary West Baltimore is comprised of majority minority communities that are among the most economically and academically disadvantaged in the US and are disproprotionately impacted by cancer. A healthcare and cancer research workforce that understands the challenges facing West Baltimore residents and similar communities across the US is essential to addressing cancer incidence and outcome disparities. To excite and sustain underrepresented minorities (URM) scholars’ interest in cancer-related science subjects, healthcare research and careers, early educational intervention that takes account of the social determinants of educational success is critical. In this Catalyzing Cancer Research among Urban Underrepresented Minority Youths and Teachers (CATALYST) program, we will implement an innovative and immersive program for Middle School scholars, their families, teachers, and communities in West Baltimore. The aims of the program are to: 1) Excite scholars, their families, and communities about cancer research using cancer-focused research experiences and mentoring programs from an early stage in their education. 2) Develop novel curricula and individually mentored, hands-on cancer research training and experiences for Baltimore Mid- dle School teachers that are aligned with scholars’ curriculum and lead to improved science learning. 3) Develop and implement novel scholars’ curricula integrated with research experiences to improve science learning in Middle Schools. And 4) Expand the rich tapestry of outreach and community engagement activities to include cancer-related research trainings in West Baltimore’s Middle Schools. Scholars and teachers’ projects will pro- vide cancer-focused material for use in community outreach and engagement activities to be implemented by the scholars and teachers in their schools and communities. The outcomes of scholars’ and teachers’ educa- tional activities, curriculum development, and research projects will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at local, regional, and national forums as well as during collaborative exchanges with peer NCI YES programs across the US. CATALYST is built on the highly successful University of Maryland Baltimore Continuing Umbrella of Research Experiences (UMB CURE) Middle Schools Pilot Program – the first NCI CURE Middle School program – which was implemented by the University of Maryland Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center (UMGCCC) in West Baltimore for seven years. The UMB CURE pilot developed a robust cancer-focused program that lever- aged strong UMB and UMGCCC resources in a holistic approach to scholars’ education, and community's needs, and is the framework for the proposed CATALYST program. The impact of CATALYST on all program stake- holders will be rigorously evaluated and outcomes will be longitudinally tracked. This data will inform best prac- tices and identify areas for improvement which is fed back to develop a sustainable and scalable program that produces the next generation of URM cancer researchers and caregivers and ultimately increase diversity in the biomedical workforce.