The University of Minnesota Department of Pediatrics and Masonic Cancer Center propose to continue a highly successful training program in translational and genomic 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 variety of research settings including classical epidemiology, genomic epidemiology, laboratory studies, and clinical investigations. Along with seminars 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, bioinformatics, cancer biology, genetic epidemiology, immunology, clinical trials/methods, and field research. Further, students have several unparalleled opportunities for supervised translational and genomic research projects in human, animal, and in vitro data, study design and development, statistical analysis, and individual and team grant writing. Predoctoral students are 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. Spe?cial attention is given to recruitment of individuals from underrepresented minorities. We anticipate that two of our postdoctoral trainees will choose to obtain an MS in clinical research. Criteria for 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.
Childhood cancer is the leading cause of death due to disease in children in the United States. Childhood cancer survivors, which number over 350,000, face lifelong increased morbidity and mortality. This training program equips researchers and physician-scientists with experience in classical epidemiology, genomic epidemiology, laboratory studies, and clinical investigations relevant to childhood cancer etiology, outcome, and survivorship.
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