POWERED The proposed Program for Oncology Workforce Education and Research at Dartmouth (POWERED), will identify, recruit and train underrepresented minority undergraduates for independent careers in cancer research with specific attention to related scientific and life/career skills. Qualified students will be from groups underrepresented in biomedical research. They will receive a holistic multi-modal two-year intensive training experience spanning the summer following sophomore year through their senior year. We propose building on the foundation we have developed with three years of an NCI-funded P30 ?CURE? supplement that introduced undergrads from underrepresented minorities to oncology research at Dartmouth. POWERED is a two-year program including two 8-week summers (16 weeks total) of full-time mentored research at Dartmouth's Norris Cotton Cancer Center (NCCC) boosted by 4 semesters (16 weeks each) of part-time coordinated scientific research at their home institutions. Considerable effort will be made to customize each participant's program according to their scientific interests in cancer. Each student will have a mentor at their home laboratory and at NCCC. Together, with the PI, they will form Individual Mentoring Team(s) to track the progress of each student. Faculty from colleges and universities throughout New Hampshire that make up New Hampshire INBRE, (NH- INBRE Idea Network of Biomedical Research Excellence), will recruit and nominate promising underrepresented minority students to apply and subsequently arranged for mentoring the selected students as research trainees at the home institution. A specific emphasis in the senior year is securing post-graduation work or training in cancer research or a related biomedical field. A set of Educational Tools to achieve the Specific Aims will be developed and evaluated using formative and summative measures to allow for dynamic change as appropriate to meet the Specific Aims and dissemination to other educators.
POWERED is designed as a significant experience in cancer research for students from groups that are underrepresented in professional cancer research. The students will be recruited from the 10-college network, NH-INBRE and will participate in a program with 2 summers of full time research at Norris Cotton Cancer Center, and 4 semesters of part time research at their home institution. The goal is to establish these students on a path to becoming professional cancer researchers.
