Although knowledge of cancer biology in the laboratory has increased exponentially in recent years, progress in cancer treatment in the clinic has been more gradual. To accelerate progress in the clinic, a larger number of outstanding clinician-investigators is needed to perform patient-oriented, therapeutic translational research. The M. D. Anderson (MDACC) K12 Paul Calabresi Program in Clinical Oncology has taken advantage of an extraordinary environment for clinical and translational research to begin to fill this need. MDACC brings together 1,469 faculty and 29,500 new patients each year with a well-developed infrastructure for clinical and laboratory research and novel ideas that are supported by 254 NCI grants. For 6 decades, MDACC investigators have made important contributions to clinical cancer research. Since the inception of the MDACC K12 Program in 2000, 9 junior-faculty investigators have been trained in patient- based translational research with the program's support. Currently four faculty investigators and two fellows are being trained in this program. All nine of our graduates have become highly productive clinician- scientists, who have published 388 peer-reviewed papers, competed successfully for $10.9 M in grants and contracts and have headed 89 therapeutic protocols. The four faculty and two fellow trainees supported by this award will conduct hypothesis driven clinical trials, participate in a cancer-oriented K30 curriculum and can earn an M.S./Ph.D. in Patient-Based Biological Research. To maximize use of MDACC's extensive resources for clinical, translational and basic research, this combined K12 program will include fellows and junior faculty not only from MDACC but also from the Baylor College of Medicine. This program emphasizes individualized training plans that include didactic classes, clinical trials, laboratory research projects, publication of results, individualized training experiences, and long-range planning. Each Calabresi scholar is guided by a clinical mentor and a translational mentor as well as by the PI and the program's Advisory Committee, composed of experts in clinical, laboratory, and translational research.
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