Cancer Research Training and Education Coordination

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT — CANCER RESEARCH TRAINING AND EDUCATION COORDINDATION The Cancer Research Training and Education Coordination (CRTEC) at Baylor College of Medicine’s Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center (DLDCCC) aims to educate and train future cancer researchers and physician-scientists. Directed by Drs. Suzanne Fuqua and Jason Mills, CRTEC focuses on enhancing cancer research education and training across all career stages through the following specific aims: 1) Enhance Education and Training: Develop and coordinate cancer research education activities for trainees at all stages and throughout the DLDCCC. 2) Evaluate and Track Impact: Use evaluation strategies and the developing CRTEC Engagement Tracking System (CETS) to measure the effectiveness and impact of training programs on cancer research at Baylor College of Medicine and all DLDCCC pavilions of care. CRTEC’s programs and initiatives facilitate training across the entire spectrum of cancer education, including opportunities for middle schoolers, graduate level trainees, and early faculty. New programs during the ongoing funding cycle have been initiated to increase application and success rates for F awards (“FGMI”, CRTEC’s F Grant Mentoring Initiative) and K-type career development awards (“K-Club”). CRTEC collaborates with the Community Outreach and Engagement (COE) to support trainees from all backgrounds and to coordinate efforts for maximum impact on our catchment area community. For example, the core runs an important Lay Language Course, which educates cancer researchers of all backgrounds to speak in lay terms to members of the community and the successful “Saturday Morning Science” (SMS) series for middle-to-high school students. CRTEC also works directly with COE to promote cancer education in the community and partners with other Texas institutions to enhance cancer research education.