Post-doctoral Training Program in Cancer Metabolism and Tumor-host Interactions

Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey (RCINJ) provides an outstanding environment for training in basic, clinical, behavioral or population-based cancer research and brings together an exceptional group of investigators organized in multi-disciplinary research teams focusing on a broad spectrum of cancer research. The Cancer Metabolism and Growth (CMG) Program, at RCINJ has robust research strengths bolstered by strong collaboration between researchers at Rutgers and our formal consortium partner Princeton University. The proposed program leverages these unique research strengths and resources of RCINJ to provide training in translational research in Cancer Metabolism and Growth and Tumor Host Interactions. The primary goal of this T32 training program is to provide postdoctoral candidates with the highest quality training and research experience so that they are competitive in developing research careers in academia, government, and the private sector. To achieve this goal, trainees will engage in mentored cancer research, co-curricular and professional career development activities for two years. Program candidates are Ph.D. recipients who wish to develop careers in cancer research. The program will recruit a cohort of 2 new trainees each year from year 1-5. Thus, the program will have 2 trainees in year 1 and 4 trainees in year 2 through 5 of the training grant. High achieving post-doctoral fellows (evidenced by research productivity in the form of number of publications, fellowship awards, presentations etc.), may be supported for an additional third year of training through institutional funds. Faculty members with active, well-funded research programs and extensive mentoring experience will support program trainees. All of the faculty mentors chosen for this program have significant R01-level peer reviewed funding in tumor metabolism and host interactions focused research. Experienced leadership team with track-record of research productivity and mentoring will ensure successful implementation of the program. Both formative and summative evaluation will be integral parts of the proposed program. We will annually track the educational and professional activities of trainees for at least 10 years after completing research training. We will disseminate results from the comprehensive evaluation on the program website. Additional dissemination will occur through articles published in peer-reviewed journals and through presentations at regional and national conferences, by program staff as well as participants. Our program benefits from the multi-disciplinary research environment and robust educational resources available at RCINJ (the state's only NCI designated Comprehensive Cancer Center) as well as the consortium relationship with Princeton University. 19