This renewal application seeks support for both pre- and postdoctoral trainees in the area of biochemical and chemical training for cancer research. The training program encompasses well recognized areas of contemporary cancer biology (growth factors, receptor tyrosine kinases, signal transduction, leukemogenic transcription factors, DNA modification, cell cycle control, genomic surveillance) with the allied field of chemical and structural biology (high resolution analysis of proteins and DNA, carcinogenic DNA adducts, and chemotherapeutic drug design). The training program is composed of 20 preceptors from nine academic departments representing both the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and the College of Arts and Sciences. In addition, the training program has significant ties to the Vanderbilt-Ingram Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology, and the Vanderbilt Center for Structural Biology, all of which offer resources for trainees and preceptors. In addition to departmental and preceptor-specific laboratory guidance, each trainee receives cancer-related training in the form of two different courses focused on cancer biology and experimental cancer research. Predoctoral trainees are academically supported by an Interdisciplinary Graduate Program that encompasses all departments but Chemistry, which has an independent graduate program, while postdoctoral training is enhanced by an institutional office of Postdoctoral Affairs. Trainee development is also enhanced by significant institutional core facilities and state-of-the-art facilities and equipment that provide technology resources applicable to cancer biology and molecular structures. Minority opportunities and interactions are enhanced by a newly formed Alliance between Vanderbilt University and Meharry Medical College, a historically minority medical school in Nashville. ? ?
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