The Surgical Oncology Research Training Program at the University of Florida is designed to provide trainees with the skill set necessary to pursue a career in both surgical oncology and basic science research.
We aim to train individuals who seek translational cancer research as a significant component of their academic career in surgical oncology. To accomplish our purpose, trainees w ill be mentored by both a basic science preceptor and a clinical preceptor. The basic science preceptor will provide continual guidance and oversight of a basic science project whereas the clinical preceptor will ensure that the trainee understands the clinical context of their research. Independently-funded research preceptors in the fields of cancer cell signaling and cell death, cancer genetics and stem cell biology and clinically-active, funded clinical preceptors and the executive committee of the program will assist the trainee with curricular development, project selection, conduct of research, clinical correlation and project evaluation. Quarterly, the trainee, research preceptor, clinical preceptor and executive committee will meet to review data and provide guidance for the project. As the trainees mature, they will be expected to present their findings at national meetings and submit their work to high-impact journals. The executive committee seeks to recruit high- quality applicants with tangible evidence of an interest in surgical oncology. Furthermore, we will seek applications from under-represented minorities. One trainee will be accepted into the program each year for a total of two trainees in the program per year. Specifically, the program seeks to accomplish the following specific aims:1) To advance an integrated surgical oncology basic science program that promotes development of academic surgical oncologists;2) To create a program the fosters interdisciplinary approaches to translational oncologic research;3) To develop a training program that attracts high-quality candidates including under-represented minorities. Upon completion of the program, the trainee should have the skills required to obtain a prestigious surgical oncology fellowship, pursue a career in academic surgical oncology and ultimately be a leader for novel research that advances the care of the cancer patients.

Public Health Relevance

The state of Florida is the fourth most populous state, but, in terms of estimated, newly diagnosed cancer cases, it is second in the nation. Furthermore, some evidence suggests that cancer care in Florida lags behind our peers. Therefore, as the only surgical oncology basic science training program in the State, a goal is to increase the number of basic science-trained surgical oncologists, who can advance the care of cancer patients through both research and clinical care

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Type
Institutional National Research Service Award (T32)
Project #
5T32CA106493-10
Application #
8688920
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZCA1-RTRB-Z (J1))
Program Officer
Damico, Mark W
Project Start
2004-07-01
Project End
2015-06-30
Budget Start
2014-07-01
Budget End
2015-06-30
Support Year
10
Fiscal Year
2014
Total Cost
$114,625
Indirect Cost
$9,126
Name
University of Florida
Department
Surgery
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
969663814
City
Gainesville
State
FL
Country
United States
Zip Code
32611
Han, Song; Gonzalo, David H; Feely, Michael et al. (2018) Stroma-derived extracellular vesicles deliver tumor-suppressive miRNAs to pancreatic cancer cells. Oncotarget 9:5764-5777
Delitto, Daniel; Delitto, Andrea E; DiVita, Bayli B et al. (2017) Human Pancreatic Cancer Cells Induce a MyD88-Dependent Stromal Response to Promote a Tumor-Tolerant Immune Microenvironment. Cancer Res 77:672-683
Delitto, Daniel; Judge, Sarah M; Delitto, Andrea E et al. (2017) Human pancreatic cancer xenografts recapitulate key aspects of cancer cachexia. Oncotarget 8:1177-1189
Han, Song; Gonzalo, David H; Feely, Michael et al. (2017) The pancreatic tumor microenvironment drives changes in miRNA expression that promote cytokine production and inhibit migration by the tumor associated stroma. Oncotarget 8:54054-54067
Gerber, Michael H; Delitto, Daniel; Crippen, Cristina J et al. (2017) Analysis of the Cost Effectiveness of Laparoscopic Pancreatoduodenectomy. J Gastrointest Surg 21:1404-1410
Pham, Kien; Delitto, Daniel; Knowlton, Andrea E et al. (2016) Isolation of Pancreatic Cancer Cells from a Patient-Derived Xenograft Model Allows for Practical Expansion and Preserved Heterogeneity in Culture. Am J Pathol 186:1537-46
Delitto, Daniel; Zhang, Dongyu; Han, Song et al. (2016) Nicotine Reduces Survival via Augmentation of Paracrine HGF-MET Signaling in the Pancreatic Cancer Microenvironment. Clin Cancer Res 22:1787-99
Delitto, Daniel; Black, Brian S; Cunningham, Holly B et al. (2016) Standardization of surgical care in a high-volume center improves survival in resected pancreatic head cancer. Am J Surg 212:195-201.e1
Delitto, Daniel; Luckhurst, Casey M; Black, Brian S et al. (2016) Oncologic and Perioperative Outcomes Following Selective Application of Laparoscopic Pancreaticoduodenectomy for Periampullary Malignancies. J Gastrointest Surg 20:1343-9
Delitto, Daniel; Wallet, Shannon M; Hughes, Steven J (2016) Targeting tumor tolerance: A new hope for pancreatic cancer therapy? Pharmacol Ther 166:9-29

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