TY - JOUR
T1 - Developing a Novel Framework for an Undergraduate Cancer Research Education and Engagement Program for Underrepresented Minority Students
T2 - the Florida-California CaRE2 Research Education Core (REC) Training Program
AU - Mochona, Bereket
AU - Lyon, Debra
AU - Offringa, Ite A.
AU - Redda, Kinfe K.
AU - Reams, Renee R.
AU - Odedina, Folakemi
AU - Wilkie, Diana J.
AU - Stern, Mariana C.
AU - Carpten, John D.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was made possible by Grant Numbers U54CA233396, U54CA233444, and U54CA233465 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Cancer Institute (NCI). Acknowledgments
Funding Information:
All the trainees gave oral and poster presentations on their research project after they completed their research training to the University Community during the program closing ceremony. Two trainees presented posters of work conducted during their summer training at the 12th AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved, September 20–23, 2019. At a later stage, five REC students submitted abstracts for presentation at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) that was held in Anaheim, California in November 2019 (Table ). The abstracts were reviewed by the conference and all five abstracts were accepted. Three of the students received ABRCMS Travel Awards based on merit. Encouraged by the comments and inputs from the visitors, three of them applied for funding from FAMU Undergraduate Research Office (URO) to continue their research during the academic year. The CaRE at FAMU office in collaboration with FAMU-URO arranged opportunities for three CaRE trainees to continue their research during the academic year. Two of the summer interns continued their research during the academic year on a part-time basis and earned academic credit depending on their department requirement. 2 2
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, American Association for Cancer Education.
PY - 2021/10
Y1 - 2021/10
N2 - Lack of substantive research experiences and technical skills mentoring during undergraduate studies leaves many underrepresented minority (URM) students unprepared to apply to competitive graduate programs. As a part of our ongoing effort to increase the pipeline for the development and training of successful URM scientists in biomedical sciences with focus on reducing cancer health disparities, the Florida-California Cancer Research Education and Engagement (CaRE2) Health Equity Center was launched in 2018. Funded through an NIH/NCI U54 grant mechanism, the CaRE2 Center is a triad partnership among Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), a minority-serving institution, University of Florida (UF), and University of Southern California (USC) Cancer Center. One of the objectives of the triad partnership is to promote the coordination and implementation of the training of the next generation of Black and Latinx biomedical scientists in Florida and California. An important component of the CaRE2 program is the Research and Education Core (REC) designed to coordinate the training of URM students and researchers at different levels in their academic and professional developments. The undergraduate cancer research training program under FAMU-CaRE2 Center is a 3-year (2018–2021) project to identify, train, mentor, and provide the URM undergraduate students with the support network they need to flourish in the program and beyond. In its year-1 funding cycle, the program has made significant progress in developing a novel framework for an undergraduate cancer research education and engagement program at FAMU, one of the forefront minority institutions in the nation. The mentored research program is complemented with professional development and engagement activities, including cancer research seminars, workshops, and community outreach activities. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the strategies implemented for an effective partnership, the leadership and mentoring skills, and outcomes from the year-1 experiences. In addition, we present the progress made in advancing the pool of underrepresented minority students with scientific and academic career progression paths focused on cancer health disparities.
AB - Lack of substantive research experiences and technical skills mentoring during undergraduate studies leaves many underrepresented minority (URM) students unprepared to apply to competitive graduate programs. As a part of our ongoing effort to increase the pipeline for the development and training of successful URM scientists in biomedical sciences with focus on reducing cancer health disparities, the Florida-California Cancer Research Education and Engagement (CaRE2) Health Equity Center was launched in 2018. Funded through an NIH/NCI U54 grant mechanism, the CaRE2 Center is a triad partnership among Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), a minority-serving institution, University of Florida (UF), and University of Southern California (USC) Cancer Center. One of the objectives of the triad partnership is to promote the coordination and implementation of the training of the next generation of Black and Latinx biomedical scientists in Florida and California. An important component of the CaRE2 program is the Research and Education Core (REC) designed to coordinate the training of URM students and researchers at different levels in their academic and professional developments. The undergraduate cancer research training program under FAMU-CaRE2 Center is a 3-year (2018–2021) project to identify, train, mentor, and provide the URM undergraduate students with the support network they need to flourish in the program and beyond. In its year-1 funding cycle, the program has made significant progress in developing a novel framework for an undergraduate cancer research education and engagement program at FAMU, one of the forefront minority institutions in the nation. The mentored research program is complemented with professional development and engagement activities, including cancer research seminars, workshops, and community outreach activities. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the strategies implemented for an effective partnership, the leadership and mentoring skills, and outcomes from the year-1 experiences. In addition, we present the progress made in advancing the pool of underrepresented minority students with scientific and academic career progression paths focused on cancer health disparities.
KW - Cancer health disparity
KW - Cancer research education and engagement training
KW - Minority-serving institution
KW - Summer research program
KW - Underrepresented minority undergraduate research
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U2 - 10.1007/s13187-020-01762-w
DO - 10.1007/s13187-020-01762-w
M3 - Article
C2 - 32430639
AN - SCOPUS:85085318034
SN - 0885-8195
VL - 36
SP - 914
EP - 919
JO - Journal of Cancer Education
JF - Journal of Cancer Education
IS - 5
ER -