# Training Program in the Biology of Cancer

> **NIH NIH T32** · WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $251,435

## Abstract

Cancer is the 2nd major cause of human morbidity and mortality. Thus, PhDs and MD/PhDs
specifically trained in the discipline of Cancer Biology and professionally involved in cancer research
and education are a critical national health need. It is our view that an interdisciplinary graduate
curriculum with a major focus upon the biology of cancer that interfaces with clinicians engaged in
cancer diagnosis and treatment provides an excellent means of training specialists with a sufficient
breadth of perspective for successful independent careers in cancer research and education. This is
an application for renewal of a training grant, currently in its 30th year, to support 7 pre-doctoral
students from the Cancer Biology Graduate Program (CBGP) in the Department of Oncology at the
Wayne State University (WSU) and the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute (KCI). Trainees
include both PhD and MD/PhD candidates and are selected from our diverse student population,
including underrepresented minorities. Training draws from the outstanding clinical and research
facilities at WSU/KCI and the expertise of 18 accomplished preceptors in areas ranging from
neoplastic development, and invasion and metastasis, to cancer therapy, prevention, and cancer
epidemiology. The cornerstone of our training environment is the CPGB, which provides a unique
educational experience that integrates extended cancer courses, seminars by local and
nationally/internationally recognized speakers, student-faculty research retreats, attendance at
national/international meetings, and specialized workshops and courses, ultimately culminating in a
PhD in Cancer Biology. Graduate students are exposed to state-of-the-art methods in molecular and
cell biology and population science research, and with cutting-edge technologies through the KCI
research cores, while performing hypothesis-based cancer research. Students receive clinical
exposures to the cancer problem by “rounding” with oncologists at the KCI Cancer Hospital.
Specialized training in responsible conduct of research and on topics ranging from rigorous
experimental design and fellowship writing to career options is also provided. The enduring goal of
our Cancer Biology training program is to train PhD and MD-PhD students in experimental laboratory
and population science research, including both basic and translational research.Training of our most
outstanding graduate candidates from the CBGP is clearly enhanced by their competing for
appointment to this NCI-sponsored training grant, thus equiping them to pursue successful careers in
cancer research and education. During the more than 29 years of support, T32 CA009351 has
trained an impressive group of cancer biologists who are substantially contributing to basic and
translational cancer research and educational efforts throughout the United States.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10224103
- **Project number:** 5T32CA009531-35
- **Recipient organization:** WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Larry H Matherly
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $251,435
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1985-09-01 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10224103

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10224103, Training Program in the Biology of Cancer (5T32CA009531-35). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10224103. Licensed CC0.

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