This is a competitive renewal application for the Paul Calabresi Career Development Award for Clinical Oncology (K12) funded and initiated in January 2010. The objective of the program is to provide a framework for the development of clinical and translational physician-scientists at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. This ha been achieved through a coordinated program of mentoring, an established innovative series of formal courses, and research projects with an interdisciplinary, collaborative design. The program, its leadership and participants are integrated within the established research programs of the NCI-designated Albert Einstein Cancer Center (AECC) and Einstein's Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR); the latter focused on the training and mentoring of young clinical investigators. The Einstein Calabresi Program selects highly qualified clinical and translational investigators, primarily MDs but including some PhDs, that are committed to developing careers in patient-oriented clinical and translational research. The training focus is on cancer therapeutics. A formal curriculum has been developed in conjunction with Einstein's ICTR (funded in part by a CTSA grant) featuring an MS degree in Clinical Research Methods and a new course on Clinical Trial Development in the Era of Personalized Cancer Medicine along with individualized instruction based on the background and needs of each Scholar. The leadership of the program brings together senior Einstein faculty with strong backgrounds in cancer therapeutics research, postgraduate training in the clinical oncology disciplines, and clinical research methods. The Principal Investigators are Dr. Roman Perez-Soler, Professor of Medicine, Deputy Director of the AECC, and co-director of AECC's Experimental Therapeutics Program and Dr. Mark Einstein, Professor and Vice-Chair for Research in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology. Both PI's have an established track-record of translational research in cancer therapeutics as well as mentoring junior clinical investigators. The Educational Coordinator, Dr. Paul Marantz, is Associate Dean for Clinical Research Education and Associate Director of Einstein's ICTR. He is an innovator in the development of educational programs in clinical research methods for physicians and is co-PI of Einstein's CTSA. Novel initiatives are planned including training for mentors and processes for the external evaluation of the program. An Advisory Committee of AECC's senior faculty leaders provide oversight in the selection and ongoing evaluation of the progress of Calabresi Scholars and the impact of the program. The leadership is assisted by an External Advisory Committee with members experienced in directing Calabresi programs at other institutions. Over the first four years of funding, fourteen Scholars were recruited to the program from medical-, pediatrics-, radiation- and gynecological- oncology. Two Scholars were PhDs, the rest MDs or MD/PhDs. Nine Scholars will have completed the program by the end of the current period of support, all pursuing successful careers at major academic centers, six at Einstein.
The objective of this program is to train clinical and translational physician-scientists to develop new treatments for cancer at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. This will be achieved through a coordinated program of mentoring, innovative didactic courses, and the performance of research projects with an interdisciplinary collaborative design.
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