SUCCEED Cancer Research Education Program (CREP)

CANCER RESEARCH EDUCATION PROGRAM: SUMMARY Effectively addressing cancer health disparities requires a comprehensive, multidisciplinary diverse workforce to address multi-level and complex health inequities, which are evident in the continuing disproportionate cancer incidence and mortality rates of underrepresented minorities. To fully understand and address the most critical

factors effecting cancer health disparities, it is necessary to continuously enhance the design, approach, implementation, dissemination, and practice of cancer health disparities research. Likewise, it is fundamental to establish a sustainable infrastructure that will facilitate the didactic training and inclusion of more

underrepresented minority (URM) investigators and students in cancer health disparities research. Virginia State University (VSU) and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Massey Cancer Center (MCC) have established a collaborative Cancer Research Education Program (VSU-MCC CREP) to maximize existing institutional

resources and to build an infrastructure that will increase the capacity of faculty and students to pursue and facilitate cancer health disparities research and enhance VSU’s ability to lead in education, community engagement, and research in cancer health disparities in Virginia. The overall goal of the VSU-MCC CREP partnership is to pilot test cancer health disparities training and

education programs and to use the preliminary data to not only advocate for the institutionalization of these programs but also to inform the development of a pipeline for VSU URM faculty to successfully compete for NIH funding (K awards, R01s). The long-term goal is to develop a sustainable education and training program that

will improve the impact and scope of research discoveries and translation by increasing the number of underrepresented minority investigators and students who can significantly inform, influence, and conduct cancer health disparities research. Our approach is threefold: 1) develop the research capacity and capital of developing

faculty at VSU to conduct cancer disparities research; 2) increase the number of diverse students at both institutions interested in cancer health disparities research and participating in cancer research education experiences; and 3) increase the number of investigators at both institutions conducting cancer research.

The SUCCEED CREP will provide a set of unique and sustainable training experiences aimed at increasing the capacity of a local historically black college to take the lead in education, community engagement, and research in cancer-related health disparities. The organizing theme of the educational and training experiences for faculty

and students is to build the knowledge, skills, partnerships, and capacity for multidisciplinary approaches to identify and reduce local cancer-related health disparities and their determinants.