Florida Cancer ReTOOL Program for Underrepresented Minority Students

ABSTRACT The underrepresentation of minorities in basic, clinical and behavioral research has been viewed as a significant barrier to addressing cancer disparities, and the inclusion of minority populations in clinical trials. Thus, there is a need to develop a cadre of racially and ethnically diverse, well-trained scientists. In this application, we will address the following barriers that underrepresented minorities face for a comprehensive rigorous, and innovative approach that will create opportunities and promote careers in cancer research for underrepresented minority researchers and students: (i) the lack of committed role models, (ii) inadequate mentoring, (iii) insufficient preparation, (iv) low expectations, and (v) not being aware of the culture and idioms of science. To achieve our long-term goal of increasing the pool of underrepresented minority (URM) cancer researchers, our primary objective is to augment, promote and sustain an independent, competitive cancer research training program that creates opportunities and promotes careers in oncology for minority students through the Comprehensive Research Training Opportunities for Outstanding Leaders (C-ReTOOL) program. This program will apprise and culturally sensitize undergraduate and graduate students of the need to reduce the disproportionate cancer burden in minority populations through basic, clinical, and behavioral research conducted in the US, Europe, Africa and the Caribbean. The C-ReTOOL program will build on our existing cancer research and training opportunities to grow the number of underrepresented scientists and clinical investigators in higher education and academic leadership.