This is a revision of our competing renewal application, """"""""Cancer Epidemiology Training Program"""""""" (T32 CA009142- 26), which aims to provide training for five predoctoral trainees and two postdoctoral trainees each year. In 1997, in response to the program announcement called """"""""Interdisciplinary Training in Genetic Epidemiology of Cancer"""""""" (PA- 97-071), we were funded as a training program in Cancer Molecular Genetic Epidemiology. In the last five years, the program has been emphasizing a multidisciplinary approach by training in both epidemiology methodology and molecular genetic aspects of cancer. With sustained leadership, multidisciplinary faculty, a well-defined specialized curriculum, and interdisciplinary research environments, we plan to continue to focus on the genetic molecular epidemiology of cancer. The proposed training program will provide trainees the opportunity to gain experience in both cancer epidemiology methods and molecular biology laboratory skills. This will allow students to utilize the knowledge of epidemiology methods and molecular biology to elucidate genetic predisposition and susceptibility on the risk of cancer, to study effects of environmental exposures on cancer risk, to describe the natural history of cancer among highrisk individuals with inherited genetic mutations, and to evaluate potential gene-environment and gene-gene interactions on the risk of cancer. The interdisciplinary training will be useful in identifying etiologic factors, mechanism of carcinogenesis, and establishing effective cancer prevention and control strategies. We will enable students to apply molecular genetic epidemiology knowledge to chemoprevention trials and to apply new high-throughput technologies, such as DNA microarray genechips, SNP identification and genotyping, gene expression profiling, and proteomics, to epidemiological studies. Special efforts will be made to recruit qualified candidates from underrepresented minority groups. The existing genetic molecular laboratory components will facilitate the training program. Faculty who have NIH-funded cancer-related grants will provide research opportunities for trainees. Additional resources include the UCLA Tumor Registry, the High Risk Registries, patient populations in the UCLA Medical Center, molecular, genetic, nutritional, and pathological laboratories within the UCLA Jonsson Cancer Centers, and the USC Cancer Surveillance programs. The Cancer Epidemiology Training Program has provided outstanding rigorous interdisciplinary training in epidemiology, statistics, and biology since 1975. Graduates of the program currently hold academic positions at leading universities and research institutions.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 136 publications
