Care delivery for patients with cancer is a high-risk, high-volume, and high-cost endeavor. In the United
States, over 1.6 million adults received new diagnoses of invasive cancer in 2016 and prevalence is expected
to reach 19 million Americans by 2024. The National Academy of Medicine, among others, have raised
persistent questions regarding the quality of care patients receive across the cancer care continuum. Rapid
and impressive advances in cancer therapies may be rendered moot if such therapies cannot be given in a
safe, effective, efficient, equitable, and patient-centered manner across diverse treatment settings. Given the
pervasive challenges to optimal cancer care delivery, additional research capacity is needed to hasten the
discovery of care gaps, develop and test efficacious interventions, and implement discoveries into routine
clinical practice. The proposed training will prepare scientists from diverse disciplines to advance this needed
research and to understand and improve cancer care delivery, thus filling a critical void in cancer research.
The goal of this new T32 application, Interdisciplinary Research Training in Cancer Care Delivery, is to
prepare three pre and 14 postdoctoral trainees to become independent scientists who conduct cancer care
delivery research across three emphasis areas: 1) descriptive discovery; 2) intervention development and
testing, and; 3) implementation science. The program will produce independent scientists by providing a solid
foundation in research methods and pertinent theory, depth of knowledge in a substantive science area
pertinent to cancer care delivery, experience in the conduct of research, and socialization into the normative
behavior of high quality, ethically sensitive research. Training is provided through four main activities: mentored
research experiences, course work, a selected emphasis area, and professional development and
socialization. Trainees will have an individualized development plan and a mentorship team composed of a
primary mentor with an active research program in cancer care delivery and a secondary mentor with content
and/or methodological expertise. Across six top-ranked graduate schools – Engineering, Nursing, Medicine,
Pharmacy, Public Health, and Social Work – 22 primary and 10 secondary faculty with cancer care delivery
research expertise have pledged to mentor trainees. The University of Michigan provides an outstanding
environment to support cancer care delivery research training. Key institutional assets include the Rogel
Cancer Center, the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, the Michigan Institute for Data Science, and
the Institute for Social Research. The University of Michigan School of Nursing, a top ten program, will house
the program and implement robust strategies to recruit and retain a diverse pool of trainees.
This training program aligns with stated priorities of the National Cancer Institute and the Moonshot Blue
Ribbon Panel Recommendations to lessen the burden of cancer through minimizing cancer treatment’s
debilitating side effects, expand prevention and early detection, and mine data to predict patient outcomes.