Abstract
The field of cancer prevention incorporates research all along the spectrum from basic science studies at the laboratory bench to epidemiology, behavioral sciences, and clinical studies, with the convergence of evidence from these different approaches aimed at implementing public health interventions that reduce the burden of this disease. Due to the necessity of multiple disciplines interacting in order to achieve a public health outcome, traditional discipline-specific training may not be adequately preparing the cancer prevention research workforce. We propose that cancer prevention researchers establish defined professional competencies which will allow them to shape the future directions of the field as well as to collaborate effectively in multidisciplinary teams, disseminate new findings beyond their own scientific circles, and advocate for their implementation for the public good. We previously proposed that these core competencies focus on knowledge of issues in other research fields, interdisciplinary communication, and leadership/teamwork. Here, we describe the reorganization of an existing course to incorporate activities deliberately designed to foster these competencies. We provide details about the course structure, student feedback, and ideas for future versions of this course. We hope this framework will be useful to others who are engaged in the collective effort to develop leaders in the field of cancer prevention research.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the students and the faculty guest speakers who participated in this course. The Cancer Prevention Research Training Program and the development of the course Topics in Cancer Prevention are supported by a cancer prevention educational award (R25E CA056452, Shine Chang, Ph.D., Principal Investigator), and by the MD Anderson Cancer Center Support Grant (CA016672, Ron DePinho, M.D., Principal Investigator) funded by the National Cancer Institute.
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Yates, M.S., Chang, S., Lee, HY. et al. Bringing Cancer Prevention Research Competencies to the Classroom. J Canc Educ 33, 109–115 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-016-1063-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-016-1063-9