Cancer Prevention And Control Training Grant (CAPACITY)

PROJECT SUMMARY This renewal application seeks continued support for the Wake Forest University School of Medicine (WFUSM) and Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center (WFBCCC) training grant in cancer prevention and control (CPC). We had two funding cycles of an R25 “Postdoctoral Training Program in Cancer Survivorship” and are in the final year of a subsequent renewal of “CAPACiTy: Cancer Prevention and Control Training Program” (R25CA122061; T32CA122061). The R25 grant provided support for mentored training of cancer survivorship researchers from 2008 to 2018. During the transition from R25 to T32, we expanded training to include the entire cancer control continuum (2019 to present). The expanded focus aligned with new aims of the WFBCCC CPC program, new scientific members, and a robust funding portfolio in cancer prevention, early detection, and survivorship. Since 2019, WFUSM has made considerably investments to advance translational science by expanding programs and faculty in implementation science, informatics, learning health systems science, and team science. The WFBCCC has also expanded its focus on cancer care delivery research and serves as 1 of 2 academic institutions with an NCI Community Oncology Research Program Research Base. We are in a unique position to evolve and expand our training program in cancer control aligned with institutional priorities and investments. The overall goal of this training grant renewal is to support training of 12 new post-doctoral fellows in the skills and competencies needed to conduct independent and translational cancer control research. Key features include: 1) Recruitment of promising post-doctoral fellows with a keen interest in a translational research career in cancer prevention and control; 2) Alignment with a primary mentor and mentoring team comprised of T32 program faculty, who are PIs or Co-Is in cancer control research and/or subject matter experts in translational science; 3) Individualized didactic and experiential training facilitated by an Individualized Development Plan; 4) Exceptional infrastructure and environment for training and development of skills in rigorous and reproducible research methods, translational science, and the responsible conduct of research; 5) Experienced program leadership with complementary strengths in cancer control research, implementation science, informatics, cancer care delivery, health systems science, and team science; 6) Expansion and engagement of 31 Multi-Disciplinary Preceptors from 12 Departments and Sections and a 7-person External Advisory Committee to guide program priorities and external assessment; and 7) Program evaluation to ensure alignment with the needs of trainees, mentees, and institutional strengths. The evolution of the CAPACiTy post-doctoral training program will train the next generation of cancer control researchers with an explicit focus on reducing the evidence-to-practice gap in cancer control through translational science.