Concerted efforts in cancer research over the last twenty years have resulted in a prodigious expansion of our knowledge of the basic cellular and molecular events involved in the process of malignancy. Despite this, improvements in cancer therapy have been limited to a few diseases, and cancer mortality rates remain high. The translation of basic science advances into improvements of cancer treatment will require clinical oncologists trained to function at the interface of basic science and clinical medicine. The purpose of this proposal is to outline a program that will increase the number of clinical researchers that are actively involved in funded, independent, translational research, which will bring evolving basic science principles, to the clinic for rapid advancement into clinical care of cancer. The goals of this proposal are to establish a program for the career development of clinicians in clinical oncology research in order to provide the skills and experience necessary for the development of new clinical procedures that will be of direct benefit to cancer patients. The clinician candidates will learn basic research techniques that will enable clinical research activities to be coordinated with basic research scientists, develop and test rational basic and clinical scientific hypotheses that will enable independent clinical research that is based on fundamental and clinical research findings, design and test innovative clinical protocols, and manage all phases of clinical trials research. This proposal will also establish a mechanism to provide oversight and annual evaluation of the clinical research development program as a whole, and to establish procedures for program announcement and candidate selection, research project and faculty mentor selection, and evaluation of candidates' progress in career development during the program.
