Abstract C28: Éxito! Cultivating new Latino scientists in cancer health disparities research
Authors: Perez Arely , Gallion Kipling , Ramirez Amelie G. 
Published: February 2019

The Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training (Éxito!) program was developed to encourage Latino master's level students and graduates to pursue a doctoral degree and career in Latino cancer health disparities (CHD) research. Strengthening the academic pipeline for Latinos is critical for (1) ensuring that the next generation of health practitioners and researchers is representative of the U.S. population and (2) ensuring that culturally relevant solutions are developed to reduce health disparities and improve health equity among Latinos.

The Éxito! Program was established to address historically low numbers of Latino scientists in cancer health disparities research. Éxito! comprises two main components: a 5-day summer institute (SI) for 25 attendees and paid internships offering practical cancer health disparities research experiences. SI attendees are recruited from across the U.S. through communications and partnerships with over 55 universities, 240 faculty members, and 40 national student organizations and associations. A competitive online application process is open each year from November to February with the SI occurring in early June. Twenty-five master's-level students or master's-level health professionals are selected to participate in the SI. The SI features presentations by leaders in Latino CHD research who discuss different aspects of graduate student life including such topics as academics, finances, and family life. Speakers are predominately Latinos and are encouraged to share their graduate school experiences. The internship component is designed to expose program participants/alumni to Latino cancer health disparities research, and enhance their research skills. To be considered for an internship, applicants must identify a mentor and submit a work plan during the program recruitment period outlining the scope of the research they would like to perform (e.g., secondary analysis of cancer-related data, field-experience on an established research project). All internships are conducted at the applicant's home institution or university and are six months long.

Éxito! outcomes are measured through five surveys: pre/post-Summer Institute surveys, pre/post- internship surveys, and an annual alumni survey. The pre-SI survey collects demographic (e.g., age, gender, nativity), and academic information (e.g., stage in master's program, familial expectations to attend and obtain graduate education), as well as information on the perception of academic barriers and facilitators (e.g., discrimination based on race, gender, age) and academic self-efficacy (e.g., confidence about writing a competitive personal statement, acceptance into a doctoral program of choice). The survey also captures information about participants' confidence in applying to a doctoral program in the next year and the next five years, as well as their confidence in pursuing a career in cancer control research. The post-SI survey collects the same information as the pre-SI survey so that changes of key outcomes can be assessed.

The annual alumni survey consists of questions related to applying for doctoral programs, doctoral program acceptance, current academic and employment status, and intention to pursue a career in Latino cancer health disparities research. In addition, the survey also captures the SI alumni confidence toward applying to a doctoral program in the next year and five years.

From 2011-2016, we recruited 126 SI participants and awarded 28 internships. All were U.S. citizens with the majority being U.S. born (71%), single (71.4%), and having no children (83.3%). The highest level of education for the majority of participants' parents was reported as being “some college or less,” with 60% endorsing the description about their fathers, and 67% endorsing the description about their mothers. Sixty-seven percent of SI attendees agreed that they were expected to complete a bachelor's degree. Regarding further education, only 28% agreed that they were expected to complete a master's degree and only 16% agreed they were expected to earn a doctoral degree. As reported on the post SI survey, 90% of attendees said that the SI increased their interest in pursuing a doctoral degree and about 75% stated that the SI increased their interest in pursuing a career in cancer research. The overwhelming majority (91%) of the attendees “strongly agreed” (n=93) or “agreed” (n=22) that the program motivated them to overcome barriers to get a doctoral degree.

Of the 126 total alumni, 72 responded to the 2016 annual alumni survey. Twenty six of the 72 respondents reported that they had applied to a doctoral program. At the time of the survey, 3 were accepted and would start in the next year, 2 were awaiting decisions, 2 did not get accepted, and 19 were currently enrolled in a doctoral program. Of those SI alumni respondents who had not applied to a doctoral program (n=46), almost half indicated they were “very confident” or “confident” they would not apply to a doctoral program in the next year (n=22) and 16 were “unsure” if they would apply. However, when asked how confident they were to apply to a doctoral program in the next five years, 46% (n=21) indicated they were “very confident” or “confident” that they would apply in the next five years.

Overall results from the SI experience demonstrated improvements across all measures of academic self-efficacy, as well as improvements in confidence towards applying to a doctoral program in the next five years. Survey findings for internships also demonstrated improvements in students' research skills. Currently, 24% (n=30) of SI alumni are currently enrolled in a doctoral program.

The Éxito! program provides strong evidence in support of targeted programs focused on reducing the gap in Latino representation at the doctoral level as well as in cancer control and health disparities research. Éxito! has proven successful in its goal to foster confidence among Latino students/graduates in their capacity to pursue a doctorate and a career in cancer control research. Over the last six years, the Éxito! program has provided the mentorship and encouragement necessary to increase the pipeline of Latino cancer health disparities researchers.

Citation Format: Arely Perez, Kipling Gallion, Amelie G. Ramirez. Éxito! Cultivating new Latino scientists in cancer health disparities research [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Tenth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2017 Sep 25-28; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2018;27(7 Suppl):Abstract nr C28.