Cancer Control Research Program

PROJECT SUMMARY: CANCER CONTROL RESEARCH PROGRAM The Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center (Sylvester) Cancer Control (CC) Research Program is co-led by Frank J. Penedo, PhD, and Tracy E. Crane, PhD, who offer complementary expertise across the cancer control continuum from prevention to survivorship. CC advances cancer control science throughout Sylvester’s four-county catchment area (CA). These efforts strategically align with the program’s two specific aims 1) identify and characterize multilevel determinants of cancer etiology, risk, and outcomes from prevention to survivorship; and 2) design and test innovative interventions to reduce gaps in cancer care and improve outcomes across the cancer control continuum. With Sylvester investments, CC has continued to mature, growing in membership, scientific productivity, and scope in alignment with Sylvester’s 2019-2023 Strategic Plan. Targeted faculty recruitment has added expertise in social epidemiology, cancer care delivery, cancer survivorship, and lifestyle medicine (health behavior) research. The program has achieved key milestones including receiving a Training to Reduce Burden across the Cancer Control Continuum (TRACC) T32 training grant, creating a Hispanic/Latino(a) (H/L) cancer survivorship cohort, and launching several transdisciplinary, multisite, and innovative CA-relevant projects. CC has grown to include 47 members from four University of Miami Colleges and Schools (Schools of Medicine, Music, Communications, and the College of Arts and Sciences), representing 12 departments. CC has $7.4M in annual direct peer-reviewed, cancer-related extramural funding—an increase of over $1M annually since the prior submission, including $2.9M from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Over the reporting period (6/1/2018- 5/31/2023), program members published 817 peer-reviewed, cancer-relevant papers; 24% (n=200) were intra-programmatic and 15% (n=126) inter-programmatic, 18% (n=144) were in journals with impact factors ≥10, and 73% (n=599) were published with collaborators from other institutions. Support for faculty recruits totaled $11.8M and Sylvester Intramural Funding Program (IFP) investments of $2.1M to CC members resulted in $6.9M of external funding, over a 3-fold return on investment. Grounded in Sylvester’s unique CA, CC has characterized a greater appreciation of the critical heterogeneity of cancer risk, prevalence, and outcomes and developed novel interventions that have led to practice-changing impact across the cancer continuum. Sylvester’s investments in key research infrastructure, most notably the Behavioral and Community-Based Research Shared Resource, and Sylvester’s Office of Outreach and Engagement ensure input from key community stakeholders to address community priorities in cancer control. CC continues to develop a highly collaborative and engaged membership that forms a robust, sustainable, and comprehensive program that advances Sylvester’s mission among vulnerable populations in SoFL and beyond.