Sunday, May 11, 2025
5/11/2025
Molecular Epidemiology Cancer Training Program - Abstract/Project Summary This is a competing continuation application entitled “Molecular Epidemiology of Cancer Training Program” (T32 CA09142). The specific aims of this research training program are to continue implementing innovative, multidisciplinary, and collaborative research training in cancer epidemiology and to train five pre- and two post- doctoral trainees in an interdisciplinary program of molecular and genetic cancer epidemiology. In the last 5 years, this program has emphasized a multidisciplinary approach by providing instruction and mentorship in epidemiological methodology and the molecular aspects of cancer. In this continuation application, we will continue to focus our training program on molecular epidemiology of cancer with new directions on human microbiota, epigenome, post genome-wide gene-environment interactions, and integration of behavior and molecular epidemiology, in response to a remarkable progress in the development of new sophisticated high- throughput technologies which has enabled extensive applications of biologic markers in cancer epidemiology, etiology, and prognostic prediction. With continuous leadership, collaborative faculty, a well-defined curriculum, and interdisciplinary research environments, we will continue to provide trainees with opportunities to gain experience in both cancer-specific epidemiologic methods and molecular laboratory skills. This will allow trainees to utilize the knowledge of epidemiologic methods and molecular biology to elucidate genetic and epigenetic predisposition and susceptibility to cancer, to study the effects of environmental exposures on cancer risk, to describe the natural history of cancer among high-risk individuals with inherited genetic mutations, and to evaluate post-genome-wide gene-environment/gene-gene interactions on the risk of cancer. Special effort has been made, and will continue to be made, to recruit qualified predoc and postdoc candidates from URM backgrounds and with M.D. training to postdoc positions. In the last five years, we have filled most of predoc and postdoc positions. Since 2014, we have successfully recruited 5 highly qualified under- represented minority (URM) trainees into our program (23.8%), including three pre-doctoral and two post- doctoral trainees. In the last 10 years, our former and current pre-doctoral and post-doctoral trainees have published a total of 100 unique papers. Eleven pre-doctoral trainees have graduated and eight post-doctoral trainees have finished their training from our training program in 10 years. Graduates of the Molecular Epidemiology of Cancer Training Program currently hold academic and research positions at leading universities and research institutions. The Cancer Epidemiology Training Program has provided outstanding, rigorous interdisciplinary training in epidemiology, statistics, and biology since 1975, and we hope to continue this record of excellence in the future.
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