Post-Baccalaureate Scholars
The University of Arizona Cancer Center prepares post-baccalaureate scholars to pursue doctoral degrees in cancer-related fields through The Diversity in Cancer Research Post-Baccalaureate Program.
ACTIVITIES LED BY THE OFFICE OF CANCER RESEARCH TRAINING AND EDUCATION COORDINATION (CRTEC)
Diversity in Cancer Research Post-Baccalaureate Program - The University of Arizona Cancer Center was one of only 8 institutions to be sponsored by the American Cancer Society to launch the new Diversity in Cancer Research Post-Baccalaureate Program. This program will expand diversity in the cancer research workforce by increasing the number of under-represented minorities in the biomedical field. The goal of this program is to expose the participants to cancer research and provide career development activities that will help them prepare for a career in cancer research.
About the Program
The Diversity in Cancer Research Post-Baccaureate Program at UACC will offer a paid, two-year, full-time cancer research experience to individuals with a bachelor’s degree who intend to pursue a doctoral degree in biomedical science, a health profession, or in population health/public health (e.g., Ph.D., MD, DO, PharmD, DrPH). A high priority will be given to individuals from groups that are underrepresented in the cancer workforce.
Over the 24-month program, the four (4) participants who are selected will engage in:
- Mentored research experiences that teach them to identify and address important questions in the cancer field.
- Professional development workshops to enhance their competitiveness for doctoral degree programs.
- Seminars and graduate-level coursework through which they learn about cutting-edge cancer research.
- Networking activities building their connections to peers and role models in the cancer field.
The program will start on July 31, 2023.
Applications are no longer being accepted for 2023.
Eligibility:
- Member of a group underrepresented in the cancer workforce
- Bachelor's degree in any STEM discipline
- 2.75 minimum GPA
- Motivation to pursue a doctoral degree and a career in the cancer field
- Commitment to participate in the program full-time
These faculty will support the participants in identifying a project that aligns with their general area of career interest and provides direct experience with the scientific process. The participants will develop a formal oral presentation of their research project to present at the UACC annual research retreat in their second year and at an end-of-program celebration.
Participants will have the opportunity to work with Cancer Center mentors including:
Alicia Allen, PhD; Family and Community Medicine
Area of Research: Nicotine/tobacco, addiction, women's health, cancer prevention
Jennifer Barton, PhD; Biomedical Engineering
Area of Research: Optical imaging, endoscopes, early detection, microscopy
Jennifer W. Bea, PhD; Health Promotion Sciences
Area of Research; Body composition, cancer prevention, lifestyle interventions
Ali Bilgin, PhD; Biomedical Engineering
Area of Research: Magnetic resonance imaging, image processing, machine learning, deep learning
Alfred Bothwell, PhD; Immunobiology
Area of Research: Cancer immunology stem cells molecular biology
Ross Buchan, PhD; Molecular and Cellular Biology
Area of Research: Stress Granules; P-bodies; Proteostasis; Stress Response
Carlos Caulin: PhD; Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery
Area of Research: Head and neck cancer, p53, mouse models, immunoprevention
Kellen Chen, PhD; Surgery
Area of Research: Fibrosis, regeneration, single-cell transcriptomics, tissue engineering, cellular mechanics
Zelieann Craig, PhD; Animal & Comparative Biomedical Sciences
Area of Research: Toxicology, infertility, reproduction
Anne E. Cress, PhD; Cellular and Molecular Medicine
Area of Research: Cancer invasion and metastasis prevention
Sally Dickinson, PhD; Pharmacology
Area of Research: Skin cancer, TLR4, prevention
Nathan Ellis, PhD; Cellular and Molecular Medicine
Area of Research: Cancer genetics, cancer susceptibility, cancer health disparities, cancer epigenetics, replication stress, and DNA repair
Rina Fox, PhD, MPH; College of Nursing
Area of Research: Quality of life, survivorship, sleep disturbance, stress management, adolescent and young adult
David Garcia, PhD; Health Promotion Science
Area of Research: Health equity, Hispanic health, and community-engagement
Judith Gordon, PhD; Nursing
Area of Research: Tobacco, Integrative Health, Behavior Change, Digital Health
Geoffrey Gurtner, MD; Surgery
Area of Research: Wound healing, fibrosis, regeneration, mechanotransduction, surgery
Dongkyun Kang, PhD; College of Optical Sciences
Area of Research: Optical microscopy for cancer diagnosis, skin cancer diagnosis, cervical cancer diagnosis
Nam Lee, PhD; Pharmacology (College of Medicine) and Chemistry & Biology
Area of Research: Pancreatic cancer, tumor angiogenesis, and therapeutics
Purnima Madhivana, MD, PhD; Health Promotion Sciences
Area of Research: Global Health, Cancer Continuum of Care, Intersection of Infectious & Chronic Diseases, Women's Health, Public Health
Michael Marty, PhD; Chemistry and Biochemistry
Area of Research: Membrane proteins, lipids, nanodiscs, mass spectrometry
Juanita L. Merchant, MD, PhD; Medicine
Area of Research: Transcriptional regulation, inflammation, gastric and colon cancer
Cindy Miranti, PhD: Cellular and Molecular Medicine
Area of Research: Prostate cancer, bone tumor microenvironment, bioengineering, signal transduction, oncogenesis
Steffan Nawrocki, PhD; Medicine
Area of Research: Cancer therapeutics, autophagy, apoptosis, drug resistance, oncolytic virus
John Purdy, PhD; Immunobiology
Area of Research: Virus infection, metabolism, metabolomics, lipidomics
Travis Sawyer, PhD; Optical Sciences
Area of Research: Imaging, gastrointestinal cancer, biomedical engineering, image analysis, cancer screening
Jacob Schwartz, PhD; Medical Pharmacology
Area of Research: Sarcoma, molecular biology, pediatric, bone cancer
Curtis Thorne, PhD; Cellular and Molecular Medicine
Area of Research: Colon Cancer, Organoids, Signal Transduction, Drug Discovery
Koenraad Van Doorslaer, PhD; Animal and Biomedical Sciences
Area of Research: HPV, innate immunity, oncogenes, persistent infection, evolution
Wei Wang, PhD; Pharmacology and Toxicology
Area of Research: Cancer drug discovery, autophagy inhibitors, targeted protein degradation, AML
Shamar J. Young, MD; Department of Medical Imaging - Division Chief, Vascular and Interventional Radiology Associate Professor, Medical Imaging
Area of Research: Clinical translation and research, interventional oncology, portal hypertension, and advanced emboltherapy.
Donna Zhang, PhD; Pharmacology and Toxicology
Area of Research: NRF2, chemoresistance, lung cancer, Ovarian Cancer, anti-cancer drug development
Chi Zhou, PhD; School of Animal Comparative Biomedical Sciences
Area of Research: Angiogenesis, Endothelial Function, TNF-α, Cytokines, Fetal Programming
