The regions served by the Howard University Cancer Center (HUCC) and Johns Hopkins Comprehensive Cancer Center (JHCCC), Maryland and the District of Columbia, have had among the highest cancer death rates in the United States for more than fifty years. Minority residents of these regions have been disproportionately affected by cancer, and cancer has become a leading cause of morbidity and mortality for African-Americans in both Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. To address this problem, HUCC and JHCCC have embarked on a partnership to increase productive research in screening, diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and supportive care as it relates to cancer, with a special focus on cancer in African-Americans. The HUCC/JHCCC partnership, which began as a series of collaborative efforts involving faculty from each institution organized into groups targeting high priority areas, has been supported since September of 1999 by supplemental funds for the JHCCC core grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The successes realized thus far during the planning phases of the HUCC/JHCCC partnership, with collaborative research progress in several areas, including prostate cancer, gastrointestinal cancers, and breast cancer, has promoted the submission of this grant in an attempt to secure funds to further augment partnership activities. The major aim of this grant proposal is to continue the development of a sustainable partnership between HUCC and JHCCC that enhances the research, training, education, and outreach missions of both institutions. To accomplish this goal, the HUCC/JHCCC partnership will work to build the research faculty and scientific programs at HUCC directed at cancer in African-Americans, to enhance population-based cancer studies at JHCCC involving African-Americans, to increase opportunities for research training and career development of African- American cancer researchers at HUCC, and to improve proposal seeks support for 3 research projects, 2 pilot research projects, 1 pilot educational program, and core infrastructure at HUCC, along with additional funds for further planning and development of the HUCC/JHCCC partnership. Over the last 5 years of support requested for the HUCC/JHCCC partnership, as these initial research and educational activities progress to complete for independent funding, new programs, and resources of high priority for development will be identified and supported.
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