This is a request for continued funding of the predoctoral Carcinogenesis Training Program at Northwestern University, which is in its 14th year. The goal of this program is to provide comprehensive and rigorous research training in cancer biology. The program continues to serve as a focus for interdisciplinary interactions among students, postdocs and faculty in tumor biology. Candidates for funding from this program come from a robust pool of graduate students matriculating into integrated, rather than departmental, Ph.D. programs. The majority of candidates for training grant support enter graduate school through the Integrated Graduate Program in Life Sciences (IGP) which is organized into 9 curricular areas including Cancer Biology. A smaller number of students enter the Evanston campus Integrated Biological Sciences program (IbiS) and a smaller yet number derive from the MSTP program. The integration of Ph.D. recruitment and education has markedly increased the quality and number of students recruited into the area of Carcinogenesis, and graduates of the program are going on to outstanding postdoctoral positions in the area of cancer research. Interactions among Cancer Biology faculty including education enrichment activities and minority recruitment have been focused and coordinated. The program has evolved from its initial focus on Chemical Carcinogenesis to reflect the enhanced strength and diversity of the faculty in the area of cancer biology at the institution, with new strength in the areas of Signal Transduction, Adhesion, Motility and Angiogenesis, Viral Carcinogenesis and Tumor Therapy and Translational Studies. The core preceptor group, representing nine major NU departments, four Evanston Campus Departments and the Cancer Center, is well supported by a substantial NIH- funded research base. The training sites provide state-of-the-art resources a n d facilities within individual laboratories and in numerous shared resources. The program consists of 1.5 years of course work including core courses and advanced courses in tumor cell biology. This is followed by 3-4 years of thesis research coupled with an educational enrichment program providing training in critical thinking, presentation skills, the peer-review process and the responsible conduct of research. An expansion of the program to 10 slots from 9 is requested to reflect the growth in the student pool and faculty preceptor base. In addition, institutional commitment to expand Cancer Biology Research at NU includes plans for building a new R.H. Lurie Research Tower and for doubling the research faculty over next 5-10 years. Expanded support for the Carcinogenesis Program will be critical if we are to ensure that graduate training keeps pace with the expected growth of the research enterprise at NU.
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