This is a competing continuation application entitled Cancer Epidemiology Training Program (T32 CA09142).
The specific aims of this research training program are to continue implementing innovative, multidisciplinary, and collaborative research training in cancer epidemiology and to train five pre- and two post-doctoral trainees in an interdisciplinary program of molecular and genetic cancer epidemiology. In the last 5 years, this program has emphasized a multidisciplinary approach by providing instruction and mentorship in epidemiological methodology and the molecular aspects of cancer. With continuous leadership, collaborative faculty, a well- defined curriculum, and interdisciplinary research environments, we will continue to provide trainees with opportunities to gain experience in both cancer-specific epidemiologic methods and molecular laboratory skills. This will allow trainees to utilize the knowledge of epidemiologic methods and molecular biology to elucidate genetic predisposition and susceptibility to cancer, to study the effects of environmental exposures on cancer risk, to describe the natural history of cancer among high-risk individuals with inherited genetic mutations, and to evaluate gene-environment/gene-gene interactions on the risk of cancer. Furthermore, we will encourage trainees to make use of novel high-throughput technology in cancer epidemiological studies. The genetic molecular laboratory components, as well as a newly constructed high-throughput genotyping laboratory in the Department of Epidemiology, will facilitate this aspect of the training program. Program key faculty with NIH cancer-related research funds will provide research opportunities for trainees. Additional resources include patients at UCLA's Medical Center, the molecular, genetic, nutritional, and pathological laboratories within the UCLA Cancer Center, and the Los Angeles Cancer Surveillance programs. Special effort has been made, and will continue to be made, to recruit qualified candidates from URM backgrounds and with M.D. training to post- doctoral positions. In the last five years, we have filled all pre-doctoral positons and 70% of post-doctora positions. We have successfully recruited four highly qualified under-represented minority (URM) fellows into our program, including two pre-doctoral and two post-doctoral trainees and one additional URM pre-doctoral trainee will join us in Fall Quarter, 2014. During the last 10 years, our former and current pre-doctoral and post- doctoral trainees have published a total of 100 unique papers supported by the T32 training program. Eleven pre-doctoral trainees have graduated and eight post-doctoral trainees have finished their training from our training program in the last ten years. Graduates of the Cancer Epidemiology Training Program currently hold academic and research positions at leading universities and research institutions. The Cancer Epidemiology Training Program has provided outstanding, rigorous interdisciplinary training in epidemiology, statistics, and biology since 1975, and we hope to continue this record of excellence in the future.
The Cancer Epidemiology Training Program emphasizes a multidisciplinary approach by providing instruction and mentoring to pre- and postdoctoral trainees in both epidemiological methodology and molecular genetic aspects of cancer. In the last five years, all pre-doctoral positons and 70% of postdoctoral positions have been filled. Four highly qualified under-represented minority (URM) fellows have been recruited into the training program, including two predoctoral and two postdoctoral trainees. In addition, one URM predoctoral trainee will join the program in Fall Quarter, 2014. During the last 10 years, our predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees in our program have published a total of 100 papers. Eleven predoctoral trainees have graduated with Ph.D. degrees and eight postdoctoral trainees have finished their training. Graduates of the Cancer Epidemiology Training Program currently hold academic or research positions at leading universities and research institutions. The Cancer Epidemiology Training Program has provided outstanding, rigorous interdisciplinary training in epidemiology, statistics, and biology since 1975, and we plan to continue this record of excellence to train five predoctoral and two postdoctoral trainees in an interdisciplinary program of cancer molecular and genetic epidemiology.
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