The University of the District of Columbia (UDC) and the Georgetown University Medical Center, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center (LCCC) propose to continue their participation in the Bridges to the Doctorate that has been built upon the successful partnership that currently exist due to an NIH/NCI p20 and U56 funding. A UDC Masters Degree Program in Cancer Biology Prevention and Control, an outgrowth from the U56 grant, is jointly taught by UDC and LCCC. To help alleviate the heavy cancer burden that impacts the District of Columbia, the Masters Degree Program was established to provide competitive minorities students with knowledge and confidence that will allow for seamless transition from this MS program to a competitive Doctorate Program. Consistent with the NIH requirements for the Bridges to the Doctorate Program, we propose the following objectives to augment the students'conceptual learning and skills. (1) update and implement a highly competitive curriculum in the Masters Program and provide pre-course enhancers (PCEs) in order to impart background to help master material found in courses that have previously caused difficulty to similar students, (2).To improve academic performance by having students attend and present at journal club and local and national scientific meetings, participate in research skills and education workshops, and a distinguished lectures series and belong to a Transition Interest Groups (TRIGs), a student-mentoring group,(3) To provide each Masters student with a summer research experience in a research-intensive laboratory (4) to provide an opportunity for two faculty members from the LCCC to serve as visiting professors at UDC. The goal of the Bridges to the Doctorate Program is to graduate Master-level students who are able to gain admission to PhD programs at LCC or similar institution and eventually become biomedical scientist best suited to translate cancer biology, prevention, and control methods into research that will help alleviate health disparities. The University of the District of Columbia(UDC) and the Georgetown University Medical Center, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center(LCCC) propose to continue their participation in the Bridges to the Doctorate that has been built upon the successful partnership that currently exist due to an NIH/NCI p20 and U56 funding. The proposal will promote initiatives, strategies, and activities that will increase the number of minority students pursuing careers in cancer research. The influx of these minority cancer researchers will help alleviate health disparities in the nation.
