Cancer Prevention and Control Program Focus & Outcomes

Over the past 10 years, our pre- and postdoctoral fellows have been highly successful.

Number of publications

• Predoctoral fellows: Mean number of publications during fellowship is 8 with a mean of 4 first-authored publications
• Postdoctoral fellows: Mean number of publications during fellowship is 8 with a mean of 4 first-authored publications

Post-training career

• 75% of postdoctoral trainees have accepted academic tenure-track positions.
• 82% of predoctoral fellows accepted postdoctoral positions at leading cancer centers and academic institutions such as Moffitt Cancer Center, Stanford University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University of Minnesota.
• Five fellows submitted F31 applications to NIH, and three were awarded (60%).
• Several fellows have been awarded peer-reviewed scholarships from the American Cancer Society and the Oncology Nursing Society.
• Fellows have also been recognized nationally with Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) abstract awards and American Psychological Association (APA) dissertation awards.

Training outcomes include:

• Comprehensive understanding of cancer control science
• Proficiency in advanced research and statistical methods
• Integration of ethical principles in research
• Understanding of the role of social and community-level factors in cancer disparities
• Acquisition of presentation and networking skills
• Development of scientific writing skills, including grant proposal development and publication
• Skills to analytically review scientific papers and grants
• Acquisition of skills for career progression

T32 fellows meet weekly with their primary mentor and biweekly or monthly with their secondary mentors. Individual mentoring is supplemented by a strong curriculum built specifically for training in cancer prevention and control.

The training platform includes coursework, seminars, laboratory and community experiences, national and international meetings, and grant and publication development. A commitment to health disparities is integrated into all training components.

A commitment to health disparities in research is an integrated and cross-cutting theme. Current events have underscored underlying disparities in our social structure and the impact of these disparities on health outcomes, including those of cancer.

To integrate health disparities across both pre- and postdoctoral training, we will:

• Provide a dedicated course on health disparities.
• Involve all fellows in an individualized community outreach experience targeting underserved populations.
• Discuss the inclusion of diverse populations in reviews of all proposals.
• Engage IU faculty with expertise in health disparities to interact with and mentor fellows.
• Invite a nationally acclaimed diversity scholar to present research and meet with individual fellows each year.

Our program prioritizes the development of skills necessary to achieving an independent, interdisciplinary, and externally funded program of research in cancer prevention and control. To this end, our program strongly supports skill development in manuscript and grant writing.

Fellows are expected to complete the program with:

• An externally submitted grant proposal and
• A significant number of peer-reviewed publications relative to status as a pre- or postdoctoral fellow.