The University of Minnesota Department of Pediatrics and Masonic Cancer Center propose to continue a highly successful training program in translational pediatric cancer epidemiology research. Our Program is sought nationally by scholars, and provides opportunities for 1 predoctoral and 3 postdoctoral students to enhance their research and experience across a spectrum of pediatric cancer research, with a goal of interdisciplinary cross?training. With 19 outstanding mentoring faculty, trainees work in a variey of research settings including classical epidemiology, genetic investigations, laboratory bench science, and clinical investigations. Along with coursework specific to pediatric cancer, strong graduate school degree programs at the University of Minnesota in Epidemiology (PhD) and in Clinical Research (MS) offer opportunities for courses in epidemiology, cancer epidemiology, biostatistics, cancer biology, genetic epidemiology, immunology, clinical trials/methods, and field research. Further, students have several unparalleled opportunities for supervised translational research projects in stem cell biology, human and animal research, study design and development, statistical analysis approaches, and individual and team grant writing. The one predoctoral student is formally admitted to the graduate school PhD program in epidemiology. The postdoctoral trainees are drawn from the medical, basic and applied sciences through national advertising and our Masonic Cancer Center members, and from the cohort of medical fellows in the Department of Pediatrics who have completed advanced clinical training in pediatric oncology and are embarking on the research component of their training. Special attention is given to recruitment of individuals from under?represented minorities. We anticipate that two of our postdoctoral trainees will choose to obtain an MS in clinical research. Criteria fo selection of both pre and postdoctoral trainees include a strong academic performance and a career orientation toward independent research in an academic, clinical, or public health setting. Each trainee is guided by at least two senior mentors from complementary disciplines in their research projects. All trainees participate in courses in pediatric cancer topics and readings in pediatric cancer epidemiology, weekly pediatric cancer seminar meetings and pediatric tumor conferences, monthly seminars, annual retreats, and presenters of their own research at national meetings. Postdoctoral students receive additional training in grant writing/preparation. All receive instruction in the responsible conduct of research. Trainees who graduate from this program will have the capacity to undertake high impact pediatric cancer research across a spectrum of disciplines.
Despite increases in incidence, it is unknown why most children develop cancer. The University of Minnesota Department of Pediatrics and Masonic Cancer Center proposes to continue a highly successful training program for pre? and postdoctoral fellows in high impact translational pediatric cancer epidemiology research. With research opportunities from an outstanding group of mentors that span from population to laboratory to clinic, our program is geared toward cross training PhD researchers and physician scientists toward understanding why children develop cancer and improving the lives of those that do.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 86 publications
