CRTEC offers a robust variety of opportunities to everyone from high school students to career researchers in order to increase the pool of next-generation cancer researchers and professionals and to develop and integrate cancer-focused training, education and professional development activities across all levels of learners.
Our CRTEC program operates with 4 key aims:
- Establish and provide strong infrastructure to train next-generation cancer researchers
- Coordinate and assist in mentoring activities and career enhancement
- Coordinate and integrate cancer training activities with programmatic, shared resources and other institutional training effort
- Support career development for underrepresented/women trainees and faculty and provide cancer education in our catchment area
Mission
Establish and maintain a strong infrastructure of training and education for a diverse workforce of cancer researchers and support their career development.
CRTEC Programs
Summer Immersion Medicine Program
- Five-day course, one full day is dedicated to cancer
- Ranked 3rd in the US for pre-college preparation programs (College Consensus)
- Enrolled 276 high school students from 29 states as well as Puerto Rico and Dubai
Medical Careers and Technology Pipeline (MedCaT):
- Pipeline aimed at engaging Appalachian rural and American Indian high school students
- Supports the pursuit of health and biomedical science careers among these populations
- Mentored 66 AI students and 96 other students from rural Appalachia to date
Medical Careers and Technology Pipeline
Training programs for graduate students, post-docs, and fellows
- WFBCCC received two new NCI-funded T32 programs for pre- and post-doctoral trainees that span the basic, clinical, and population sciences.
- The Translational Oncology Training trains next-generation cancer researchers in basic and translational cancer biology, developing their ability to move basic science concepts and findings from the bench to bedside.
- The Cancer Prevention and Control Training Grant currently trains nine postdoctoral fellows in the conduct of cancer prevention and control research.
Director’s cancer research award for trainees (RFA)
- The purpose of this award is to encourage trainees at various levels for conducting high quality cancer research
- The competition is open to all trainees including graduate students, postdocs, resident and fellows in the following fields
- Population research
- Basic and translational research
- Clinical research
- Selected trainees in each category will receive funding and a certificate
- Up to two awards will be given in each category.
Deal Fund pre and postdoctoral fellows for their travel (RFA)
- Deal Fund Travel Awards are given to postdoctoral fellows and graduate students who are attending cancer related meetings and presenting their work
- Applicants must:
- Be a clinical fellow/resident with MD, a postdoctoral fellow with Ph.D or MD/Ph.D, or a graduate student
- Be attending either a scientific meeting or career enhancement workshop
- Have a mentor/sponsor who is a WFBCCC member
- Present the work at a meeting in either poster or oral session, or be invited to a career enhancement workshop
Cancer Career Development Award to Promote Diversity (RFA)
- The purpose of this award is to promote the career development of early/mid stage under-represented racial/ethnic minority and/or women cancer center faculty members that are engaged in clinical translational or population research
- The award provides funds for up to two years to support research activities
- Eligible candidates include WFBCCC researchers who meet the NIH definition of under-represented racial/ethnic minority and/or women with a PhD or MD degree at the Assistant or Associate Professor level
CRTEC Training Pipeline
Mentor Matching Program (MMP)
The MMP’s goal is to provide appropriate scientific advice to all cancer-focused junior faculty for their successful transition to independence
Specifically, the MMP guides early-stage investigators (ESIs) to assemble the most appropriate mentoring team, develop a personalized career plan and monitor their progress
- Mentors are chosen by the CRTEC Advisory Committee in consultation with the trainee’s home academic department
- The mentoring team helps the ESI develop a personalized career plan and provides guidance throughout the mentee’s career
- The Committee meets with an ESI at a regular quarterly meeting, discusses the mentoring process and makes appropriate recommendations for mentors
- Currently, MMP supports 165 mentees (69 faculty, 96 postdoctoral trainees and fellows)
Clinical Trial Boot Camp (RFA)
The WFBCCC Clinical Trials Boot Camp is modeled after the AACR/ASCO Vail Clinical Cancer Methods workshop and consists of 2.5 days of lectures and small group mentoring discussions over a 3-week period.
Each participant submits a trial concept and work with paired clinical mentors, biostatisticians, patient advocates and basic science collaborators where applicable with the goal of a final protocol version by the end of the course.
Lectures cover the essentials of effective clinical trial designs of therapeutic oncology interventions, logistics and challenges to conducting clinical trials and overview of available WFBCCC Shared Resources
Upon successful completion of the course and final protocol approval, pilot awards will be provided to conduct the trial.
Additional Information: Please contact Emily Dressler at Emily.Dressler@wakehealth.edu for more information.