The aim of this Cancer Education Grant (CEG) is to train the next generation of scientists to become highly successful, independently funded transdisciplinary NIH researchers in cancer prevention, control and population sciences. The focus is on the first three years of early research career development following completion of a postdoctoral fellowship within a traditional departmental structure (e.g. medicine, psychiatry/psychology, public health). Thus, upon completion of this program, the candidates will be between four and six years postgraduate and ideally positioned to obtain NCI funding in areas designed as """"""""extraordinary"""""""" opportunities by the NCI's Cancer Prevention and Cancer Control Review Group reports (1997). Specifically, it will focus on mentorship from primary and secondary mentors from different disciplines and a highly individualized training plan of placement with ongoing cancer research programs. A curriculum in transdisciplinary research for cancer prevention, control and population sciences that provides a balance of common shared training and individual instructional opportunities will be developed and refined. This CEG capitalizes on the unique strengths and the cooperation of three major programs at Brown: (a) The Center for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine including, the Center for Weight Control and Diabetes Research and the Department of Psychiatry; (b) the Public Health program including the Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research and the Center for Statistical Sciences; and (c) the Brown University Oncology Group and campus based cancer biology research associated with the Brown Cancer Center. The CEG is designed to foster understanding of the importance of tobacco addiction, diet, and physical activity and other behavioral/psychosocial factors in cancer prevention and control across the five phases of NCI research (basic, preclinical, clinical, dissemination, and policy formation). The CEG will enroll one Ph.D. and one M.D. candidate per year for four years. The proposed research training program will include three components: 1) supervised participation in the ongoing work of established research teams, one led by a primary mentor and the other by a secondary mentor from another discipline; 2) participation in Brown's MS or MPH program with required competency and/or courses in public health, behavioral medicine, and cancer biology; and 3) participation in an innovative prosemmar in behavioral medicine, that focuses on transdisciplinary cancer prevention and control research. This program benefits from the participation of enthusiastic and committed faculty. Brown has a strong history of transdisciplinary research and training efforts at the predoctoral and postdoctoral (e.g. T-32) level. The CEG will bridge the gap between disciplines and provide an additional three years of early career support and mentorship to ensure a successful NCI-funded research career.
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