Research Education Core Since the inception of the NIH-funded CCNY-MSK U54 in 2008, we have developed and implemented approaches to engage and mentor students and early stage investigators in cancer research. We have provided undergraduate and graduate students with hands-on research experiences, developed cancer-related curricula and have provided professional socialization and mentorship for students appropriate to their academic level and career interests. Also, we have monitored the progress of our early stage investigators and provided individualized resources to ensure their success. To expand our transdisciplinary research focus, we have hired several faculty members for the Partnership that have been integrated into our training efforts. In this competitive renewal, we plan to recruit additional faculty who will enhance our translational focus in research and training and will broaden opportunities for our students. The majority of students at CCNY, especially those from underrepresented minority communities, come from socioeconomically disadvantaged families. Many of our students are also first generation college students and/or from immigrant families. Our program is designed to provide opportunities for them to successfully conduct biomedical and behavioral research at CCNY and MSK, and to provide mentorship and guidance towards career decisions. Our overall goals are to: 1) Increase the number of competitively trained, underrepresented minority students who enroll in MD, PhD or MD/PhD programs and, specifically, 2) Increase the numbers of these students who pursue cancer-related research careers, and 3) Increase the research competitiveness of U54 early stage investigators (ESI) (postdoctoral scholars and junior faculty). We will accomplish these goals by: a) Providing experiential activities and opportunities, support services and Partnership activities to improve and increase students' engagement and performance in cancer research related areas and professions; b) Providing academic counseling, advisement and mentoring to students to ensure that they are aware of the opportunities and prerequisites for careers in cancer research; c) Providing translational research experiences (basic sciences; engineering; behavioral; clinical; and community-based) for each student prior to graduation; d) Providing resources for the career development of early stage investigators as well as closely monitoring their progress; e) Implementing an evaluation plan to measure the results of all program activities and the utilization of all resources; g) Developing and submitting proposals with the goal of providing sustainability of our educational and training initiatives, such as through R25 and IRACDA mechanisms.
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