# Interdisciplinary Training in Cancer Research

> **NIH NIH T32** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2022 · $511,155

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
The aim of the Interdisciplinary Training in Cancer Research Program is to train young scientists to design and
conduct research on significant problems in cancer by combining information and approaches from different
scientific disciplines, including basic cellular and molecular biology, epidemiology, clinical trials and studies,
and behavioral-social sciences. The rationale behind this program is to produce researchers who can excel in
the increasingly complex environments and interdisciplinary approaches required for future cancer research.
The program is a highly competitive and demanding training program. For 2-3 years, trainees work closely with
two mentors who provide distinct, complementary areas of expertise; for example, by studying basic molecular
and cellular mechanisms of neoplasia in combination with epidemiological analyses of related risk factors; or
by participating in clinical research studies while studying behavioral or environmental factors that influence
therapeutic outcomes. Our trainee projects transcend the traditional boundaries separating the molecular and
cellular, clinical, epidemiologic and social cancer sciences. As a result, the program differs fundamentally in
focus, goals and training plans from other pre- and postdoctoral training programs in the Seattle biomedical
research community.
The program supports two separate types of interdisciplinary trainees. The first are PhD candidates and
postdoctoral fellows who work within two separate research groups to study a common problem in cancer
using unique, and yet complementary research disciplines. The second are graduate students who are
enrolled in a dual-degree program that allows PhD students in the Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB)
graduate program to earn a concurrent MS in Epidemiology. Trainees in either track are supported by this
training grant as part of a broad initiative in Seattle to create a scientific culture in which interdisciplinary cancer
research and training is encouraged and fostered.
Three separate institutions – University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and Seattle
Children's Research Institute – serve as primary research sites for trainees and their mentors. Faculty mentors
have primary appointments at one of the three participating institutions, and the majority have additional cross-
institutional affiliate appointments in the Fred Hutch/UW Cancer Consortium. We have created an environment
across institutions where pre- and postdoctoral fellows can become conversant in the goals, assumptions,
logic, methods, and vocabulary of multiple research disciplines.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10460448
- **Project number:** 5T32CA080416-24
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** BARRY L. STODDARD
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $511,155
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1998-08-11 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10460448

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10460448, Interdisciplinary Training in Cancer Research (5T32CA080416-24). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10460448. Licensed CC0.

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