The University of Texas School of Public Health (UT SPH) Cancer Education and Career Development Program (CECDP), one of the first programs funded under the R25T mechanism, has a well established record of success, based on 45 pre- and post-doctoral fellows who have completed or are currently in training. Our fellows come from a broad range of public health, behavioral and social sciences, and medical disciplines;38% are African American or Hispanic/Latino;and 84% of those who have completed training (except 2 on medical/ family leave) conduct research in academic institutions (n=24), a state tobacco prevention agency (n=1), or clinical settings (n=2). Three (9%) work in underserved communities. The specialized curriculum is in place and includes 1) active, interdisciplinary mentoring, 2) courses in intervention development, systematic review, health communication, cancer prevention, and an on-going papers-grants support seminar;and 3) long-term research placements with interdisciplinary teams. Trainees conduct research in epidemiology, intervention development and testing, dissemination of tested interventions with underserved groups on cancer screening (cervical, breast, colorectal, prostate, ovarian), and cancer survivorship. All post-docs are required to prepare grant proposals during their training. We have implemented improved systems and policies for selecting/ orienting trainees and mentors, monitoring progress, supporting competency-based training and career development, and fostering a sense of community among our trainees. Our CECDP now includes 27 established mentors--from health promotion, epidemiology, health communication, behavioral sciences, nutrition, biostatistics, policy studies, and genetics--supplemented by 13 other participating faculty and 3 upcoming mentors. Mentors'research portfolios, which emphasize disadvantaged populations, offer outstanding opportunities for hands-on training with multidisciplinary teams. Pre-doctoral trainees are based in the Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Research (CHPPR) (including the UT Prevention Research Center), and post-doctoral fellows can be located with their primary mentor in the newly endowed Michael and Susan Dell Center for the Advancement of Healthy Living at the UT SPH Austin campus or in Houston, at the CHPPR or Institute for Health Policy. In years 16-20, we propose to recruit and train 16 new pre- and post-doctoral fellows and complete the training of 3 continuing trainees--19 in all. Four program enhancements are proposed in the new cycle: 1) extension of CECDP to affiliate fellows supported by other cancer prevention grant funding;2) full integration of the Dell Center and Institute for Health Policy faculty and training opportunities;3) establishment of a concentration in health disparities (certificate for post-docs);and 4) continued development of the specialized curriculum to incorporate planning for dissemination of tested interventions, inclusion of policy development as an intervention component, and community-participatory methods.
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