# Partnership in Cancer Research (PCAR)

> **NIH NIH R25** · UNIV OF ARKANSAS FOR MED SCIS · 2023 · $77,532

## Abstract

Partnership in Cancer Research (PCAR) seeks to provide first and second-year medical students an
innovative hands-on cancer research experience in a laboratory, clinical, or community setting. The PCAR
experience will serve a class of 12 participants for 10 weeks during the summer. The research experience will
be enriched by team-based learning on the molecular and cell biology of cancer alongside clinical simulations
and experiences of cancer screening, treatment, and palliation. The overarching goal of the cancer research
experiences is to spark the participants’ interest in future careers as cancer clinical specialists and
researchers. The program will enhance the training of a workforce to meet the nation’s biomedical, behavioral,
and clinical research needs.
 Individual cancer research projects are where the students spend most of their time. The research will be
put into context with weekly active learning sessions on the biology of cancer. Clinical experiences will expose
participants to current issues in the treatment and ongoing care of people with cancer; this aspect will also give
participants insight into how basic and community-engaged science affect clinical practice and how clinical
problems can be turned into research questions. The entrepreneurship program features teams of 3
participants independently proposing marketable cancer research solutions through weekly sessions with
entrepreneur mentors. The aims are to:
 1) Provide individual medical students an outstanding hands-on experience in cancer research.
Students will perform research with one of about 50 different faculty members performing cancer research in
basic science, clinical research, or community engaged research. Throughout the course, teams of
participants will integrate their research experiences and ideas in the online and in-person mentored “Cure
Cancer Entrepreneurship program” .
 2) Provide context for participants’ research with team-based learning and clinical exposures.
Weekly team-based learning sessions will engage students in learning detailed information on molecular and
cellular biology of cancer, as well as principles of community based medicine. Clinical exposure includes
hands-on medical simulations of cancer related topics, social media interaction with a moderated patient
support group, and a visit to the palliative care clinic that will take up no more than 2 hours per week.
 3) Determine program outcomes through rigorous evaluation. Pre and post testing will be used to
determine students gain in cancer research knowledge. Surveys will be used to evaluate all aspects of the
course content, faculty, and activities. Long term tracking of participants and similar sized cohort of medical
students who did not participate in PCAR will be used to investigate efficacy in influencing career choice in
cancer research.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10676820
- **Project number:** 5R25CA250979-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF ARKANSAS FOR MED SCIS
- **Principal Investigator:** THOMAS JOSEPH KELLY
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $77,532
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-09-01 → 2025-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10676820

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10676820, Partnership in Cancer Research (PCAR) (5R25CA250979-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10676820. Licensed CC0.

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