The North Carolina Central University (NCCU) ? Duke Cancer Disparities Translational Research Partnership (NCCU-DCI CDTRP) is focused on developing infrastructure for translational research and training pertaining to the increased lethality of specific cancers in African Americans. The Program is built on a long-standing relationship between two Durham-based Institutions. NCCU is an Institution Serving Underserved health disparity Populations and underrepresented Students (ISUPS), affiliated with the 17-member University of North Carolina system, and the Duke Cancer Institute (DCI) is an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. The Partnership will develop around accelerated planning and priority-setting, focused on development of a bi-directional, mutually beneficial Cancer Research Education Program (CREP) that addresses career development for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and early stage investigators. Planning will focus on establishing regular workshops, seminars, retreats and additional modes of communication and Priority Setting will focus on developing forward-looking mechanisms for selection of translational research and training initiatives. The Implementation stage will launch with co-developed, collaborative Pilot Projects selected during the pre-planning process, which focus on molecular translational aspects of disparities in prostate cancer and inflammatory breast cancer in African Americans. Nearly 25 Shared Resources between NCCU and Duke will be available to investigators. Community engagement will mutually co-emanate from NCCU, which directly serves a minority community, and DCI's Office of Health Equity and Disparities with complementary existing programming with the underserved minority populations across the region and state. The Partnership will be led by an integrated Administrative Core (AC) of senior investigators who will serve as mentors to junior faculty, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students and will include an external Evaluation Program for tracking impact and outcomes. The Partnership will be guided by an Internal Advisory Committee (IAC), an External Scientific Advisory Committee (EAC) and a Community Advisory Board (CAB). The objectives of the AC are to provide for the NCCU-DUKE CDTRP Partnership: 1) Scientific and administrative leadership; 2) Administrative management and support; 3) Management of committees and implement administrative decisions; 4) Planning and Evaluation; 5) Access to all DCI and NCCU shared resources; 6) Support career development and mentorship of investigators; 7) Support for grant submissions. In summary, the AC will promote translational cancer disparities research at NCCU and DCI through partnerships with such laboratories. Structured mentoring appointments, seminars and annual steering committee meetings will allow leadership to mentor, develop and advise productive research activities. The AC will assist in recruiting NCCU and Duke students to translational cancer disparities research. This Core has defined expectations and metrics to assess progress and will provide support to allow NCCU and Duke faculty to develop self-supporting research programs.
This proposed NCI P20 collaborative partnership, ?North Carolina Center University?Duke Cancer Disparities Translational Research Program? (NCCU-DCI CDTRP) is relevant to cancer health disparities due to a focus on understanding molecular pathways in human tumors that contribute to the increased lethality of Prostate Cancer and Inflammatory Breast Cancer in African Americans. Elucidating these pathways will contribute to better cancer prevention, detection, and treatment of these cancers. The Administrative Core and Pilot Research Project collaborations with NCCU, a Historically Black University, is integrated with a bi-directional Cancer Research Education Program to train the next generation of underserved and minority students, postdoctoral fellows and early stage investigators in leading edge translational cancer research.
