The University of Wisconsin-Madison?s NCI-funded Training Grant in Cancer Biology (T32 CA009135) has supported cancer biology researchers to become successful, independent scientists in academic laboratories or in research-related careers for over 41 years. It is the only NIH/NCI-funded training grant dedicated solely to training in cancer biology research at UW-Madison. We have taken the opportunity to modernize our training program by adding two postdoctoral Oncology Fellows to it. We are requesting 5 predoctoral trainees and 2 postdoctoral Oncology Fellow trainee slots to address current deficiencies in training the next generation of cancer researchers: 1) the growing need for predoctoral trainees to work in translational research; and 2) the demand for the physician-scientists who understand quantitative research. We have reorganized our program administration to be a multi-generational team, added cutting-edge courses to our core curriculum (Bioinformatics, Advanced Grant Writing, and Translational Oncology-Concepts and Study Design), added an annual program retreat, and enhanced the overall training with new seminars, career development workshops, and trainee program evaluations. This training program has four pillars of strength: 1) Trainers/Mentors: Our program includes 31 well-funded faculty mentors and 7 affiliate trainers whose research spans the entire breadth of cancer research from haploid or diploid genetics, viral and chemical carcinogenesis, eukaryotic cell and molecular biology, virology, molecular toxicology, whole-animal carcinogenesis, and translational science. This includes 25 PhDs, 8 MDs, 3 MD/PhDs, and 2 DVM/PhDs from 9 different departments. 2) Trainees: UW- Madison?s nationally competitive biomedical PhD programs allow our trainers to recruit trainees with strong research backgrounds. Our trainers also make it a priority to recruit trainees from under-represented groups. 3) Comprehensive Training Plan: Set in a highly collaborative environment, our training includes intensive one- on-one research mentoring, thorough didactic training in cancer biology, and the commitment to build our trainees? skills in critical-reading, writing, and public speaking. 4) Strong Institutional Support: UW-Madison?s robust predoctoral and postdoctoral training environment adds to our training program by providing newly designed training and administrative support to foster professional development (for example, T32 Cancer Biology Retreat with the University of Minnesota) and bring outstanding speakers to campus (for example, through our Cancer Biology Seminar Series and the UWCCC?s Annual Retreat).
Our goal is to train graduate students and postdoctoral Oncology Fellows to become committed cancer researchers who work to together as scholars, experimentalists, and physician-scientists to advance cancer research and treatment. We have therefore evolved this program to bring graduate students and postdoctoral Oncology Fellows to work side-by-side to grow intellectually and technically. We are particularly proud of this grant because it has allowed us to innovate in our training by developing cutting-edge courses, addressing newly recognized needs of our trainees for their career development, training a more diverse group of students, and simultaneously doing substantive, compelling cancer research.
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