# Presentation: 698038

## Minority Institution/Cancer Center Partnership Program WorkshopNovember 20, 2003

**President Carol Z. Garrison, Ph.D.**
**The University of Alabama at Birmingham**
** **
**On behalf of **
**Benjamin F. Payton, Ph.D., President, Tuskegee University**
**James R. Gavin, III, M.D., Ph.D., President, Morehouse School of Medicine **

## Morehouse, Tuskegee, UAB:A Brief History

**Third year of three-way partnership**
**U56: UAB, Morehouse School of Medicine**
**P20: UAB, Tuskegee University**

## Overall Objectives

**Establish sustainable comprehensive partnership among the institutions**
**Eliminate cancer disparities**

## All Cancer SitesMortality Rates By Race

**Incidence and mortality rates per 100,000 and age-adjusted to 2000 US standard population**
**SEER Cancer Statistics Review 1975-2000.**

**All Cancer Sites****Mortality Rates By Race**

## Disparities in Mortality RatesAfrican Americans to Whites

|  | 1991 | 2000 | Effect on Disparity |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Colorectal Cancer | 27% higher | 40% higher | 48% increase |
| Lung Cancer | 23% higher | 14% higher | Substantial decrease |
| Breast Cancer | 18% higher | 32% higher | 78% increase |
| Prostate Cancer | 114% higher | 148% higher | 30% increase |

## African-American Population

**African-American Population**

**Morehouse**
**UAB**
**Tuskegee**

## Morehouse, Tuskegee, UAB:Why It Works

**Our partnership is strong and our potential unlimited due to**
**Location**
**Distinct strengths**
**Cultures **
**Constituents **

## Morehouse School of Medicine

**Minority serving school of medicine**
**182 students, 259 faculty**
**43,000 sq ft research wing**
**Reputation/access surrounding minority community (urban)**
**Large pool of minority investigators and potential investigators (faculty/students)**
**Excellent community based research programs**
**Assisting black men in making informed decisions about prostate screening**
**Increasing mammographies through Community Health Advisors**

## Tuskegee University

**Rich history of over 120 years of research and service (Washington, Carver)**
**Students/faculty – **
**3,000 students, 250 faculty**
**Pool of talented minority investigators and potential investigators ****(39 states, 15 countries)**
**Located in rural underserved area**
**Established community outreach programs**
**Cultural sensitivity**
**Center for Bioethics in Health Care and Research**

## University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center

**Nationally ranked research university**
**2,036 active grants/contracts ****($453 million)**
**Comprehensive Cancer Center**
**316 faculty, 36 departments, 9 schools**
**Nine major programs**
**15 core facilities**
**$110 million grants/contracts**

## Our Vision

**Create a partnership among our institutions that will enhance cancer disparity research and the research capabilities of the minority serving institutions**
**Create a functional “cancer research triangle”**

## Components of the Partnership

**Programs:**
**Developmental research**
**Community outreach**
**Research training and career development**
**Cancer education**
**Bioethics**
**Core facilities:**
**Recruitment and retention**
**Biostatistics **

## Partnership Funded Research: Morehouse

**The Role of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor in Primary and Metastatic Colorectal Cancer - Bumpers, Diasio**
**Adherence to Diagnostic Follow-Up Recommendations for Abnormal Mammograms:  Are Lay Health Advocates the Answer? - Crump, Shipp (Blumenthal, Fouad - Advisors)**
**Effects of Novel Anti-Neoplastic Isochalones (DJ Compounds) on the Regulation of Cyclo oxygenase in Human Breast Cell Lines - Johnson, Diasio**

## Partnership Funded Research: Morehouse

**Second Year**
**Mitochondrial DNA Mutations in Colorectal Progression – Aikhionbare, Watson/Go**
**Prostate Cancer Screening:  Comparisons Among Subgroups - Jones, Shipp**

## Partnership Funded Research: Tuskegee

**Sulphoraphane and Bone Metastasis in Prostate Cancer - Frazier/Lamartiniere**
**Preliminary Studies on Chemoprevention in Ovarian Cancer Cells by Antioxidants - Okegbile/Grubbs/Johanning**

## UAB Commitment to Research Development

**UAB Ovarian SPORE Developmental Research Program**
**Functional Analysis of Prohibitin in Ovarian Cancer –  Winston Thompson, Ph.D., (MSM) -- $50,000**
**Led to funding of a DOD Idea Development Award: The Role and Action of Prohibitin, an Antiproliferative Gene in Ovarian Cancer -- $421,725 (1/03-9/06)**

## UAB Commitment to Research Development

**UAB Ovarian SPORE Developmental Research Program (cont.)**
**Role of Chemokines in Ovarian Cancer – James Lillard, Ph.D. (MSM) -- $50,000**
**Led to submission of R21 Grant (Pending)**
**Development of Cell-based Functional Assay for BRCA1 in Ovarian Cancers – Veena Rao, Ph.D. (MSM) -- $50,000**

## UAB Commitment to Research Development

**UAB Breast SPORE Developmental Research Program**
**Elucidation of the Molecular Mechanisms Underlying ErbB2-Mediated**
**Taxol Resistance in Breast Cancers – Xuebiao Yao, Ph.D. (MSM) -- $50,000**

## Community OutreachObjective 

**Establish a community-based infrastructure to deliver a cancer awareness campaign that will focus on breast and cervical cancer early detection methods in low-income communities**

## Community Outreach: Progress

**UAB and TU collaboratively developed a 75-page Community Health Advisor (CHA) Training Manual**
**24 CHAs (12 in Tuskegee,12 in Birmingham)  working with media and community partners in a community-wide campaign to increase breast and cervical cancer screening**
**CHAs have also been trained in Jefferson County, AL, and Fulton County, GA**

## Research Training, Career Development Objectives

**Recruit/train minority students, junior faculty**
**Increase basic cancer knowledge**
**Communicate importance of cancer prevention/control in underserved populations**
**Provide instruction in scientific reasoning, research design, and grant preparation skills**
**Foster development of junior faculty to become independent researchers in cancer prevention and control, basic science and clinical research**

## Research Training, Career Development Progress: Faculty

**Participation of MSM junior faculty in monthly Career Development Support Group at UAB via video conference**
**Three minority junior faculty received NIH K-training awards in minority health: Rowell Ashford MD; Michelle Martin, PhD; Michele Shipp, MD, DrPH**
**Five junior faculty (four minority) received other funding (NCI, CDC) for research projects: Tom Houston, MD; Groesbeck Parham, MD; Sharina Person, PhD; Isabel Scarinci, PhD, MPH; Theresa Wynn, PhD**

## Research Training, Career Development Progress: Post-docs

**Two post-doctoral positions funded at UAB, MSM****	**
**Mary A. Frazier, MD, MPH: Tobacco Cessation—Tailoring Best Practices Among Providers that Serve Medically Underserved Communities (MSM)**
**Masood A. Khan, MD: Identification of Genetic Markers for Colorectal Cancer Progression Using Haplotype Block (UAB)**

## Research Training, Career Development Progress: Graduate Students

**Training program developed and implemented summer 2002-03 **
**Two eight-week courses for graduate students**
**28 students participated: 4 from Morehouse, 14 from Tuskegee, and 10 from UAB **
**Each student worked with a mentor faculty member at his or her institution on an independent research project **

## Cancer EducationObjective 

**Establish a Cancer Education Program including curriculum and educational changes designed to increase the knowledge of the science of cancer, cancer research, and related bioethical issues **

## Cancer Education Progress:Summer Institutes

**Two summer institutes for Partnership faculty, staff and students: **
**First MSM/TU/UAB Partnership Summer Institute, “Building Bridges to the Future,” held at Tuskegee University July 22-23, 2002. Theme: “Increased Knowledge of Cancer Research and Bioethics in Order to Foster Collaboration among Partnership Institutions”**
**2nd annual MSM/TU/UAB Partnership Summer Institute, “Partnering to Fulfill the Vision,”  held at Morehouse University, July 30-31, 2003. Theme: “Challenging Cancer Disparities: Genetics, Bioethcis and Community Relationships” **

## Cancer Education Progress:Curriculum

**Establishment of new courses at Tuskegee:**
**IBSC (Integrative Biosciences) 601: Biosciences Research and Ethics - Fall 2003**
**BIOL 540 Foundations of Cancer Biology - First offering spring 2004**

## National Center for Bioethics in Research and Health Care at TU

**Nation’s first bioethics center devoted to engaging the sciences, humanities, law and religious faiths in  exploration of core moral issues that underlie research and medical treatment of African Americans and other underserved people.**
**Funding from NIH, CDC**
**Works with TU/MSM/UAB to ensure bioethical considerations throughout the Partnership**

## The Partnership Bioethics Program

**Bioethics is concerned with ethical issues associated with: **
**Research about cancer **
**Prevention and control of cancer**
**Education, training, and career development of cancer researchers**
**Bioethics work includes:**
**Qualitative and quantitative research**
**Training that addresses**
**Ethical character traits and conduct of researchers**
**How to resolve ethical issues and dilemmas**
**Ethical issues that researchers encounter **

## Core Facilities: MSM Recruitment and Retention Shared Facility (RRSF)

**Objective: Help equip MSM with an independent core facility similar to the one in UAB Preventive Medicine to enhance efforts to recruit and retain participants in cancer research projects**
**Conduct recruitment training sessions at UAB, MSM**
**Form a Community Advisory Board at MSM similar to UAB’s**
**Create more mentoring opportunities between UAB/MSM RRSF staffs**
**Transfer comprehensive RRSF data system to MSM RRSF**

## Core Facilities: Biostatistics

**Objective: Help establish a strong biostatistical unit at MSM**
**Assist in new faculty recruitments **
**Mentor junior statistical faculty members**
**Collaborate on research in statistical methodology**
**Provide and collaborate in statistical consultation**
**Conduct seminars/workshops at UAB or MSM**
**Share state-of-the-art bioinformatic technology**
**Provide training opportunities in clinical trials, biostatistics, bioinformatics and research methodology for MSM’s fellows and junior faculty**
**Create internship program for MSM graduate students interested in these fields**

## U54--Why Not?

- (L-R) Ed Partridge, M.D., UAB; Joel Okoli, M.D., MSM; Mona Fouad, M.D., UAB, Timothy Turner, Ph.D., TU (not pictured: Shyam Reddy, Ph.D., MSM)

## Opportunity for U54 

**Well-established, dynamic partnership among three strategically located institutions**
**Complementary strengths, distinctive cultures and constituents**
**Excellent track record with P20, U56—surpassing planning goals**
**Committed support of campus presidents, deans **

## Minority Institution/Cancer Center Partnership Program WorkshopNovember 20, 2003

**President Carol Z. Garrison, Ph.D.**
**The University of Alabama at Birmingham**
** **
**On behalf of **
**Benjamin F. Payton, Ph.D., President, Tuskegee University**
**James R. Gavin, III, M.D., Ph.D., President, Morehouse School of Medicine **