It has been suggested that few institutions have all the essential elements necessary to train clinical investigators in oncology. These essential elements are well developed at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA): we have a long track record of training academic oncologists; we have a broad and well-supported research effort organized into an NCI-designated Cancer Center, we have a faculty actively pursuing translational research programs; we have a well-established local and national clinical investigations program; and we have an ongoing, structured program of didactic training. These factors make the UTHSCSA an ideal institutional environment for the training of clinical investigators. Our program will identify physician candidate trainees from medical, surgical, and radiation oncology. The resources of our NCI-designated Cancer Center, the Institute for Cancer Research and Care (ICRC), will be utilized in the program. For Phase I of their training, trainees will select an ICRC member as a mentor for their training in laboratory research skills. The completion of the training period will be marked by the submission of a detailed clinical investigation proposal. At this point, trainees will return to their clinical divisions to perform this research using the skills they have mastered. An Advisory Committee composed of scientists and clinicians from all the relevant disciplines will oversee the program and progress of each trainee. Thus, the key elements required to develop the clinical investigator trained in basic science techniques are in place at the UTHSCSA. Our proposal is designed to provide a structure and mechanism of support to continue and expand our program of training the oncology physician scientist.
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