CANCER CONTROL (CC) PROGRAM: SUMMARY The HCC Cancer Control (CC) Program continues to foster transdisciplinary population science research to reduce cancer morbidity and mortality and eliminate disparities in South Carolina and beyond. Program Aims are to: (1) Investigate biological, behavioral, and health systems-related risk factors for cancer occurrence and its consequences, (2) Develop, evaluate, and translate novel interventions that modify risk behaviors, reduce mortality, improve quality of life, and enhance survivorship, and (3) Examine individual, community, and system-level barriers and facilitators that influence the delivery, uptake, and adherence of cancer prevention and control interventions. Research Highlights: The Program offers sustained thematic strength in cancer health disparities and tobacco control and has achieved significant growth in the areas of early detection and survivorship. Impactful research ranges from the discovery of novel biomarkers to understand cancer disparities, to innovative tobacco cessation trials among diverse populations and settings, to survivorship trials to advance cancer care delivery. Impact: The CC Program has achieved significant growth across all metrics, reaching its highest levels for NCI funding ($5.2M; 475% increase), and peer-reviewed cancer-relevant funding ($6.6M; 187% increase), leading to 524 cancer-relevant publications (186% increase), of which 21% were within high impact journals (IF>10), and 49% were published in collaboration with other HCC members. CC members have received $670k in intramural pilot grant funding support from HCC, which resulted in $18.6M in peer-reviewed funding, a 27.5-fold return on investment. The impact of CC research is equally impressive, with a range of policy-shaping, practice-changing, and/or paradigm-shifting studies. Through bidirectional engagement with Community Outreach and Engagement, CC research reaches across the catchment area. Expansion of CC science through the newly acquired health systems within the Regional Health Network helps to ensure relevance and responsivity to community needs. Members: CC membership increased to 38 members from 11 departments, with 17 women and six members who identify as an underrepresented minority (URM). The program is co-led by Matthew Carpenter, PhD, and Ashish Deshmukh, PhD, national leaders in tobacco control, cancer screening, and decision science. Program activities/initiatives: With significant HCC support, CC has set a foundation for three new initiatives to increase program synergy and value to HCC, as well as to extend the impact of its research across SC and beyond 1) a newly developing Social Determinants of Health Shared Resource (SHARE), 2) a focused initiative on Survivorship and Cancer Outcomes Research (SCOR) to guide faculty recruitment, and 3) the South Carolina Center for Health Equity (SC CHEQ) to extend the geographic reach of CC research. These programmatic priorities closely align with the...