The Society for Epidemiologic Research (SER) is the oldest and largest society of epidemiologists in the world today. A primary objective of the SER is to foster the professional development of students of epidemiology and young investigators. One way to meet this objective is by providing a forum for doctoral-level students working on theses that utilize various types of epidemiologic studies in various substantive areas but with an emphasis on cancer to interact with their peers and senior epidemiologists. This has been accomplished by conducting a one-day Student Workshop for 12 students on the day before the SER annual scientific meeting in June of each year. The workshop, which first took place in 1977, has been conducted continuously for 30 years. The purpose of the workshop is to provide doctoral students an opportunity to have their thesis work reviewed, critiqued, and discussed in a supportive and constructive atmosphere by senior epidemiologists and teachers who are productive researchers in the """"""""real world"""""""" and who have a variety of epidemiologic, clinical, and methodological expertise. Each year, the new President-Elect of SER serves as the Student Workshop Chair and selects a co-Chair with expertise in cancer, who gives a formal lecture the evening before the workshop. The President-Elect also selects a panel of 4 faculty members, each an accomplished epidemiologist/biostatistician and mentor. Doctoral-level epidemiology students at any stage of their thesis research, from design to analysis, are eligible to apply. From an average pool of 32 applicants, 12 students are selected based on a blind review of their research protocols, with at least one-half (6 of 12) of the chosen proposals focusing on cancer. Each faculty member is assigned 3 protocols to review in depth and lead the discussion at the workshop. All students and faculty participate in the discussion of all proposals. Faculty members also serve as mentors for their 3 students for the duration of the thesis work. The success and value of these workshops has been clearly demonstrated by the consistent yearly pool of new applicants, the letters of evaluation from current participants, and the letters of support and strong academic performance of past participants. The accomplishments of recent and future participants will be tracked for 10 years and posted on the SER website. This application requests a 5-year continuation of NCI funding of the SER Student Workshop.
