The Career Development Program in Cancer Prevention and Control Research seeks to address the critical need for highly-trained cancer control investigators who can help fight -- and win -- the war on cancer in the 21st century. Funded by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health, the Program offers qualified doctorally-trained candidates, in various stages in their career development, a strong foundation for a successful career in population-based cancer control research.
The Career Development Program is offered through the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control Research (DCPCR), of the School of Public Health and UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. The setting provides an excellent environment in which multi-disciplinary research is a long-standing, well-established priority. This post-doctoral training program brings together outstanding nationally and internationally-recognized faculty that reflect the diverse disciplines involved in cancer control research. These senior investigators will guide each trainee through a rigorous, systematic, integrated course of study.
Candidates entering our program hold advanced degrees (such as a Ph.D., M.D., or Ed.D.) from a variety of fields and disciplines. They bring diverse levels of prior experience and research interests. Each trainee's program of study is tailored to his or her prior training, needs and interests, and includes a curriculum of coursework, in-depth hands-on research opportunities and active participation in workshops and symposia.
Length of time in the program, determined at the time of enrollment, can be for up to four years. Annual compensation for trainees is $55,000 plus benefits. Additional funds are available for tuition, travel and research expenses.
Innovation and Leadership
At UCLA, cancer control research is multidisciplinary, building on the expertise and interests of faculty and scientists in the Schools of Public Health, Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry and the College of Letters and Science. Collaborations across disciplines have resulted in a rich and multifaceted research agenda.
With its focus on communities and populations, cancer control research applies rigorous scientific inquiry to cancer-related issues spanning primary prevention, early detection, treatment, outcomes, survivorship, epidemiology and health policy.
Cancer control research is integrative, collaborative and translational, a critical link connecting laboratory and clinical research to individuals, families and communities. It crosses traditional disciplinary boundaries, drawing on fields as diverse as public health, medicine, economics, education, biology, law, genetics, psychology and public policy.
Career Development Program Goals
The goal of the Career Development Program is to prepare outstanding researchers to fully participate within the multidisciplinary and interactive framework of cancer control research. The program provides trainees with a thorough grounding in research methodology and statistics, a broad understanding of the key problems and questions facing researchers in the field, and awareness of the perspectives that researchers from diverse disciplines bring to shared research problems and questions. In addition, the training program provides opportunities to hone skills in critically examining the research literature, initiating and executing fully-developed research proposals and preparing presentations and manuscripts for publication.
Competence in these areas is achieved through a program of study that draws liberally on course offerings from diverse disciplines and departments, on special workshops and through an intensive program of mentored research.
The Career Development Program is designed to insure that participants achieve a basic understanding of each of the following:
- Research methodology and study design
- Statistics and methods of analysis
- Cancer biology
- Cancer epidemiology
- Cancer genetics
- Theories of behavior and behavior change
- Cancer diagnosis and treatment
- Survivorship
- Cancer control intervention strategies
- Outcomes research
- Quality of life
- Policy research
- Research ethics
- Minority and underserved populations
More information can be found on the program's website at http://www.ph.ucla.edu/cancerpreventiontraining/.