Diversifying Biomedical Researchers in Prostate Cancer through Academic Affiliations between UNTHSC and Alabama State University
Abstract
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in Texas, as it is in all of the United States. Data from the Texas Department of Health show that African Americans have a cancer death rate that is 36% higher than for non-Hispanic whites, and that African-American men have a 50% higher death rate from cancer than non-Hispanic white males. African-American men have higher incidence of prostate, lung, colon, and rectum cancers than non-Hispanic white men. Coupled with the disparity in cancer incidence, projections for educational attainment in these ethnic populations, historically low because of socioeconomic and other factors, suggest continued disparity among minorities for college, graduate, and professional school enrollment. Despite several decades of efforts to increase the proportion of minorities in the biomedical workforce in the United States, certain minorities remain underrepresented. In 2009, African Americans represented 12% of the U.S. population, but only 2% of all science, technology, engineering, math (STEM) doctoral degrees. In a country where the African-American population hovers around 12%, parity is still out of reach. There is an urgent need to develop novel strategies to enhance recruitment and increase retention rates of minority students in biomedical education and research. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) are among the top educators of African Americans who go on to earn STEM degrees. Thus, it is critical for a diversity program to work directly with HBCUs in order to increase the numbers of African-American doctoral degree holders that are in the biomedical workforce. The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth (UNTHSC) has been a leader among the health science centers in Texas in training minority biomedical scientists and in developing innovative programs specifically tailored to Texas minority populations. We have achieved this success through our continued strong affiliations with HBCU in Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi. Alabama State University and UNTHSC have had a long working relationship. It is fitting and appropriate that Alabama State University (ASU) become an aggressive participant in this unique training program in collaboration with the UNTHSC due to the deleterious impact of prostate cancer upon the life of its constituents, male relatives, and most importantly the black family. It becomes more urgent that we develop the intellectual talent upon our STEM students to become trained in the many aspects of understanding this disease as a prelude to guaranteeing its cure. In the proposed application, we will attract a talented pool of underrepresented minority students from ASU, particularly from the Cancer Biology Research and Training Program (a program funded by Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparity, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, and ASU s institutional initiative), provide them meaningful research experience in prostate cancer research, and supplement their lab experience with a formal coursework and workshops. We will provide continue mentoring to the scholars through the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN), and track their careers after their summer research experience is complete as they matriculate to a PhD program (through our program) and in the long term (through the NRMN). Our expectation is that greater than 80% of the students who participate in the summer prostate cancer program will continue their interest in prostate cancer research and will pursue higher education in biomedical and health-related fields. This expectation is based on the positive experience the students have had in the summer program, their career preparation, and extended mentoring from the laboratory mentor, the NRMN, HBCU faculty advisor, and the program director.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jan 31, 2017
- Source ID
- W81XWH1610145
Entities
People
- Jamboor Vishwanatha
Organizations
- United States Army
- University of North Texas Health Science Center