Cancer Research Career Enhancement and Related Activities

CANCER RESEARCH CAREER ENHANCEMENT AND RELATED ACTIVITIES ABSTRACT Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) provides significant resources, infrastructure, and dedicated faculty to support our goals of providing cancer-focused training across the educational continuum, increasing multidisciplinary research, and developing a biomedical workforce. HCI provides mentorship and financial support for junior faculty, extending professional development beyond the traditional training phases. HCI’s efforts in Cancer Research Career Enhancement and Related Activities (CRCERA) are led by two dedicated educators, Donald Ayer, PhD, and Kolawole Okuyemi, MD, MPH; together they bring both basic science and clinical perspectives. To ensure integration and programmatic execution across the different University of Utah (U of U) academic units and Cancer Center Programs, Drs. Ayer and Okuyemi work closely with a Cancer Education Committee and report regularly on progress and plans to the Research Leadership Council, the Research Executive Committee, the HCI Cabinet, and the External Advisory Board. HCI supports training beginning with formal research opportunities at the high school level with our National Cancer Institute-funded PathMaker Program and extending through the undergraduate, graduate, medical, and postdoctoral fellow training phases. At each training phase, we foster multidisciplinary research in a supportive environment that deepens our trainees’ research skills and perspectives on the cancer challenge. Junior faculty benefit from extensive mentoring opportunities, many in conjunction with the U of U’s National Institutes of Health-funded Center for Clinical and Translational Science. Through HCI’s award-winning patient and public education-focused Cancer Learning Center and a variety of outreach activities, HCI engages the community in discussions and learning about cancer. Additional strengths of this effort are: 1) Cancer Training 360, a course designed to give trainees a deeper understanding of the impacts of cancer by focusing on the mechanistic, clinical, population, and psychosocial aspects of specific cancers; 2) research experiences for high school students and undergraduates; 3) seminars and symposia, including trainee-focused symposia; 4) opportunities for trainees to appreciate and understand the patient experience via tumor board attendance and physician shadowing; 5) financial support for training in transdisciplinary research; and 6) HCI postdoctoral trainee Individual Development Plans, mentorship teams, and representation on the Research Leadership Council. In the future, our training efforts will include additional career enhancement opportunities, introduction of fellowship writing workshops for predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees, and development of additional training and trainee funding programs that foster multidisciplinary and collaborative research.