Research Education

Cancer drugs in the United States are almost exclusively developed by, tested in, and optimized for European- Americans. Disparities in U.S. drug development are the result of long-standing inequalities that occur throughout the entire drug discovery pipeline. Only a small number of basic, translational, and clinical scientists are Latino/Hispanic-American or African-American. Less than 2-5% of trial participants are Latino/Hispanic- American or African-American. Yet, in spite of a lack of data, new drugs are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and subsequently prescribed for Latino/Hispanic-American or African-American patients, without sufficient testing. It is unacceptable, especially in this era of the Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI), that our drugs are currently developed by, and optimized for, only an exclusive segment of our citizens. We seek to shift this paradigm by strengthening the existing partnership between University of California at Riverside (UCR) and City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center (CoHCCC). The goal of our U54 Research Education Core is for UCR and CoHCCC to collaboratively develop the research infrastructure and training programs necessary to develop the next generation of therapeutics researchers that reflect the ethnic diversity of Inland Southern California. To this end, the UCR – CoHCCC Research Education Core will integrate research experiences, curriculum development, and outreach education activities that focus on 1) opportunities in drug discovery, 2) resources to translate basic science discovery to drive drug development, and 3) training in the biology, ethics, and social determinants of disparities. Aim 1 will develop research pathways to increase capacity in drug development and clinical trials. Aim 2 will develop courses to introduce both UCR and CoH students and faculty to methods and innovation in drug development and the health science of disparities. (students, PDF, early stage investigators (ESI), established faculty). Aim 3 will 1) expose students, PDF, ESI to career opportunities in drug development and clinical trials and 2) provide training and capacity building.