Undergraduate HBCU Student Summer Training Program for Developing Nanomedicines to Treat Prostate Cancers
Abstract
African American/black men have shown the highest incidence rate of prostate cancer and are twice more likely to suffer from prostate cancer mortality among all populations in the United States. An effective way to address this health disparity issue is to increase the awareness of this disease in underrepresented minority (URM) populations and increase the number of prostate cancer researchers and professionals. This could be achieved by providing educational and training opportunities in prostate cancer research to HBCU (historically black colleges and universities) students. The overall goal of this proposal is to establish a training program to encourage HBCU students to pursue careers in prostate cancer research through the collaboration between the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and Hampton University (HU). The College has a long history of providing URM students with quality summer research experiences. Drs. Mahato, Batra, Datta, Garrison and Lele are professors at the College of Pharmacy and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology respectively at UNMC, while Dr. Lele is a clinical pathologist working on prostate cancer at UNMC. They are established researchers in prostate cancer research. They are also experienced in training URM students. HBCU trainees will be recruited from HU, which is regarded as a premier institute of higher learning. Three HU faculty members with student training and research experience will work as a team to assist the mentors at the host institute to recruit and mentor HBCU trainees. We have developed a well-designed training program to encourage and help HBCU trainees to enter careers in prostate cancer research. The training program includes summer research training under the supervision of mentors at UNMC as well as pre-training orientation and extended mentoring by HU advisors. To identify and select most suitable trainees, we will follow a three-stage recruitment plan objective and use objective rubrics in the selection process. We will also proactively follow up with trainees by one-to-one discussion, track their progress through short exams and presentations, and provide continuous mentoring and support. The outcome of our training program will be regularly assessed to improve the effectiveness of the program in achieving proposed aims. HBCU trainees will be educated through a well-defined course curriculum with major emphasis on etiology and stages of prostate cancer, treatment options available and their limitations, and design of new and more effective medicines for advanced prostate cancer. To enable them translate their learning into practical research, they will work on the ongoing prostate cancer research programs for 8 weeks at UNMC labs. These projects include: rational design and synthesis of smart polymers for treating advanced prostate cancers, preparation of polymeric nanocarriers for enhanced drug delivery, exploring combination chemotherapy, and determining the molecular mechanisms underlying the pathobiology of prostate cancer before and after treatment and biological evaluation of anticancer nanomedicines. Students will be given hands-on training on molecular biology techniques and various lab skills needed in developing nanomedicines for treating advanced prostate cancers. They will also be exposed to scientific writing, research conduct and ethics, guidance and information on graduate school application process, all of which will be helpful for their careers in biomedical research. The student trainees will contribute to the progress of these projects by actively participating in the research activity and presenting their work. The success of these projects will ultimately lead to the development of novel nanomedicines for effectively treating prostate cancers that are resistant to conventional treatment modalities. It will benefit patients with late stage of advanced prostate cancer.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Apr 04, 2016
- Source ID
- W81XWH1510202
Entities
People
- Ram Mahato
Organizations
- United States Army
- University of Nebraska Medical Center