Abstract IA18: North Carolina Central University and Duke Cancer Institute's collaborative cancer research and education program: Connecting cancer disparities translational research, clinical trials operations, and community engagement
Authors: Williams Kevin P. , Barrett Nadine J. , Oldham Carla E. , Hough Holly , Woodard Artis , Freedman Jennifer , Devi Gayathri R. , Patierno Steven R. 
Published: August 2020

Three interrelated contributors to cancer disparities include the lack of diversity among investigators contributing to cancer research, the deficiency of minority participation in clinical trials and bio-banking, and the need to advance community engagement as a vital component of the translational research spectrum. The North Carolina Central University and Duke Cancer Institute's Cancer Disparities Translational Research Partnership (NCCU-DCI CDTRP) (P20 PACHE), through its Cancer Research and Education Program (C-REP), provides a Translational Immersion Experience (TIE) that spans the full translational research spectrum, for traditionally under-represented PhD students, postdoctoral fellows, and early-stage investigators. The goals of TIE are to (1) provide cancer disparities research training with an emphasis on translational laboratory science including high-throughput screening/drug discovery, (2) equip trainees with unique training and education in the operational infrastructure that supports clinical research and trials, (3) highlight strategies to increase diverse participation in clinical trials and bio banking, and (4) learn and apply principles of community engagement through community-based programs and outreach. Using multimodal training techniques, the TIE program provides training and education in real-life settings that expose trainees to the full translational research spectrum across two diseases that disproportionality affect African Americans at significantly higher rates, prostate cancer and inflammatory breast cancer. The overarching goal is to bolster our trainees' experiences and training to contribute to innovative technologies and discoveries and provide access to training that spans beyond the traditional curriculum in areas of high need in translational cancer disparities research such as minority accrual and clinical trials operations. The program includes evidence-based workshops in healthy mentor-mentee relationships, building and sustaining resilience, and sharpening grantwriting skills coupled with ongoing external evaluation to provide real-time feedback on the program. We present the preliminary evaluation data based on the first cohort of the C-REP TIE program.

Citation Format: Kevin P. Williams, Nadine J. Barrett, Carla E. Oldham, Holly Hough, Artis Woodard, Jennifer Freedman, Gayathri R. Devi, Steven R. Patierno. North Carolina Central University and Duke Cancer Institute's collaborative cancer research and education program: Connecting cancer disparities translational research, clinical trials operations, and community engagement [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eleventh AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2018 Nov 2-5; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl):Abstract nr IA18.