The Cancer Research Scholars Program (CRSP): Exploring Research Across the Cancer Continuum

Cancer is among the leading causes of death in the United States. Lack of awareness of the value of and access to advances in cancer prevention, early screening, and treatment is cited as a substantial barrier to improving cancer survivorship. Further, public health experts have indicated that the social and environmental conditions in which people live, learn, work, and play also contribute to a notably greater cancer burden and are important markers of health throughout life. Overcoming the growing complexity of cancer care will require a much larger and dedicated workforce.

The current pathway of cancer-focused health care professionals and researchers who appropriately engage and connect with their target communities and patient populations is dangerously inadequate. To address this critical need to expand our future cancer-focused workforce, the University of Cincinnati (UC) and its affiliates collectively seek to establish and support a Cancer Research Scholars Program (CRSP). Our focus will be on creating unique and inspiring research and educational experiences for qualified undergraduate students of all races and backgrounds from across the nation and on implementing a program that greatly increases the number of graduate and professional program matriculants in the cancer field. Important to our success will be CRSP’s highly engaged Cancer Mentor Network (CMN).

Adopting a systems-over-silos approach (i.e., an approach that crosses healthcare professions and covers the entire spectrum of cancer care), CRSP is built around the CMN, including faculty from across the UC Cancer Center and residing at both UC and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Program faculty focus on topics across the cancer continuum, including cancer etiology, prevention, screening, health promotion, clinical cancer research, and survivorship. To ensure our Scholars’ success, CRSP will: (1) proactively recruit 20-22 outstanding summer scholars with an interest in cancer research with the established infrastructure of our highly successful Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program; (2) provide training in the essentials of research (e.g., responsible conduct of research, research design, analysis, etc.), the fundamentals of cancer research across the continuum and an understanding of social and environmental markers of health and their impact on cancer outcomes; (3) offer research experiences in top-notch cancer laboratories that closely match the Scholars’ career interests; (4) actively engage them in a supportive and enthusiastic environment in which they interact professionally and socially with other Scholars, graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and junior and senior faculty; (5) provide innovative education that strengthens academic and professional development to facilitate entry into cancer graduate programs and cancer career pathways; (6) deliver team science and collaboration training for the entire CRSP/CMN community; (7) offer community-engaged, immersive, and cancer-focused field experiences to our Scholars and CMN to encourage future community-engaged research, education and outreach; and (8) ensure long-term investment in each Scholar that extends beyond the initial proposed summer funding period. CRSP will, if successful, yield decades of enthusiastic and dedicated cancer researchers for generations to come.

Grant Number: 5R25CA261610-05
NIH Institute/Center: NIH
Principal Investigator: Melinda ButschKovacic