Career Enhancement Program

CAREER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM – PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Fundamental to advancing prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of hepatobiliary cancer (HBC) is the engagement and focus of dedicated researchers. The central activities of the Career Enhancement Program (CEP) in the NCI-supported Mayo Clinic SPORE in HBC meets this fundamental need by identifying, developing, and monitoring the progress of the most promising investigators for translational research in liver and biliary cancer. The CEP has demonstrated a strong track record of supporting applicants from two targeted groups: 1) early-stage investigators and 2) mid-career investigators who previously have not engaged in HBC research. The support includes financial ($100k/year) and extensive mentorship. This comprehensive program ultimately will create an interdisciplinary network of researchers committed to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of individuals with this disease. Awards are used to support studies of 1-year duration, with a requirement that adequate need or progress is demonstrated for a second year of funding. In the ongoing funding period (Years 1-4), the CEP selected 7 investigators for 10 awards (3 awardees received a second year of funding). These diverse investigators included women (2/7) and individuals from underrepresented ethnic groups (3/7). All remain active translational investigators in the field of liver and biliary cancer. Five of the 7 awardees remain involved with the HBC SPORE, while 2 awardees now are successful investigators in HBC research at other institutions. A former CEP awardee is serving as a Co-Investigator of a full translational project in this renewal application. To date, the CEP has resulted in significant successful scientific collaborations and additional funding, including 3 K-Awards and 1 R01 in HBC research, with others still pending. The success of the current CEP provides a template for expanding and enriching this program. The CEP leadership will continue to widely advertise the availability of CEP awards and use a rigorous and transparent process to review and select applicant candidates based on career potential to initiate, obtain funding for, and conduct translational research addressing the morbidity and/or mortality of HBC. Going forward, the CEP proposes to build on this success by 1) extending recruitment to a broader pool of candidates and increasing the scope of activities by involving past awardees in the 2) selection, 3) evaluation, and 4) mentoring of new candidates, which will nurture collaboration and provide critical experience for future SPORE leadership. The expectation will continue to be that successful CEP proposals will replace full SPORE projects or be eligible for other sources of extramural funding. The CEP is a key component of the Mayo Clinic SPORE in HBC, as it provides a significant mechanism for increasing the number and diversity of scientists and clinical investigators who are committed to translational HBC research.