This application requests continued support for a training program in Cancer Biology that was begun in 1990. The program is designed to train predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows in the fundamentals of cancer research by participation in didactic courses, seminars and discussion groups, and in the performance of laboratory-based cancer research. The training program is integrated into the research programs of the Norris Cotton Cancer Center, thereby enhancing exposure to many facets of the disease. This is a multidisciplinary Training Program with 16 faculty draw n from six academic departments: Anesthesiology, Biochemistry, Engineering, Medicine, Microbiology, and Pharmacology and Toxicology. These faculty have an excellent training record, and are highly interactive both in their individual research efforts and through the programs of the Cancer Center. Predoctoral students are enrolled in one of four graduate programs: Cell and Molecular Biology (including Immunology), Chemistry, Engineering, and Pharmacology and Toxicology. Students will be recruited to the Training Grant after they have completed one or more years in these graduate programs, and have selected one of the Trainers as a mentor. This will allow their performance in first-year classes and research rotations to be used as additional evidence of their potential to succeed in a Ph.D. degree. Postdoctoral trainees will be engaged in research under the mentorship of a faculty adviser, but will have their research experience broadened by regular interactions with other faculty and fellows through conferences, seminars, and programmatic activities. Many of the trainees at both pre- and postdoctoral levels will engage in collaborative research with other listed trainers or with other members of the Cancer Center. This Training Program acts as an enhancement to the interactive environment that makes the Cancer Center a functional institution. Predoctoral trainees will generally be funded for three years, while postdoctoral trainees will be funded for two years. All trainees will be encouraged to obtain alternative extramural funding, thereby enhancing the overall number of trainees who can be supported. This mechanism also facilitates the recruiting of minority applicants as there is a more frequent turnover of positions, and hence funds can be assigned to any qualified minority as soon as we are able to interest him/her in the program. 2 T32 CA09658-11A1 3 Alan R. Eastman, Ph.D.
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