The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) requests renewal of support for the project ?Young Minority Scientists in the Field of Cancer.? The funds will provide Minority Scholar in Cancer Research Awards to support the attendance of young scientists from NIH- recognized minority populations at high-caliber national scientific meetings. This project is an integral part of a multi-level program instituted by the AACR to address the problem of underrepresentation of minorities working in cancer research and biomedical science. The AACR is grateful for the National Cancer Institute (NCI)?s 30 years of support of minorities in cancer research, and anticipates continuing the success of this program in 2016-2021. The Minority Scholar in Cancer Research Awards expose early-career minority scientists to the best and most current cancer science and medicine through their participation in AACR Annual Meetings and Special Conferences. In addition to exposure to cutting-edge cancer research, scholar awardees also gain access to mentoring and networking contacts with experienced investigators, career-building showcases for their achievements, and professional advancement advice. These awards are given annually to minority undergraduate students, graduate students, medical students, residents, and clinical and postdoctoral fellows to support their participation at the meeting or conference. These awards have been generously supported through this R13 funding mechanism from 1985-2015, and through bridge funding during the most recent program year, 2015-2016, while a professional evaluation of the program was finalized. With this application, AACR is proud to share the results of this evaluation, conducted by Thomson Reuters (Scientific) LLC. Career gains for Minority Scholar awardees were demonstrated to be greater than those of unsuccessful applicants on at least two measures: publications and career promotions. Analysis confirmed the significant and durable benefits for scholar awardees that have also been attested to by scholar awardee narratives throughout the years. 1
This project is a critical initiative by the AACR to address the issue of minority underrepresentation in cancer research, operating to encourage more minority scientists to contribute to and persevere in the field of cancer research. Minority cancer researchers have many unique roles to play in cancer research, including mentoring future minority students, and adding diverse voices to this field of study to produce innovation. But perhaps the most important is to improve outcomes for minority patients. Minority research scientists could be more successful in balancing the diversity of clinical trial subjects and more successful in inspiring the trust of subjects. Dedicated minority researchers also have the potential to succeed with behavioral interventions that require outreach to minority communities, due to sensitivity to cultures and even the locations of targeted populations. 1
