PROJECT SUMMARY: CANCER RESEARCH TRAINING & EDUCATION COORDINATION The Buffett Cancer Center (BCC) has a firm and lasting commitment to cancer research training at all levels. Therefore, the Cancer Research Training and Education Core (CRTEC) acts as a crucial component of the BCC, ensuring the continuity and advancement of cancer research education in its basic, translational, and clinical forms. The BCC CRTEC is responsive to the unique needs of our catchment area and its medically underserved and underrepresented populations, as well as mindful of the importance of international collaborations and outreach. The Specific Aims of the CRTEC are as follows: Aim 1: To provide cancer-related education and training to middle, high school, and undergraduate students in programs which emphasize the inclusion of students who are disadvantaged. Aim 2: To educate students who are in graduate and professional programs in cancer research to prepare them for academic, industry, and clinical leadership positions. Aim 3: To offer training to enable fellows, junior faculty, and senior faculty members to reach high educational and research goals focused on cancer. The CRTEC Executive Committee (led by the BCC Associate Director for Training and Education) is advised by an Internal Advisory Board that has members from each University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) college and from the Eppley Institute. This Executive Committee coordinates BCC cancer research education so that from middle school trainees through faculty there is a mentoring continuum of cancer-relevant and level-appropriate programs, courses, workshops, seminars, evaluations, and pilot grant funding, along with specialized educational initiatives funded by the NCI and other agencies, thereby establishing cancer research training of the highest quality. These cancer research education initiatives take advantage of the top-notch research resources of the BCC, and they are necessary for all of the activities and accomplishments of the BCC Programs: the Cancer Biology Program (CBP), Targets, Modulators, and Delivery Program (TMDP), and Gastrointestinal Cancer Program (GICP). Thus, the efforts of the BCC in cancer research education and training are fully integral to the mission and the values of the BCC, and are key to its ability to improve the health of Nebraskans both now and in the future.