# Career Enhancement Program

> **NIH NIH P20** · UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA · 2024 · $74,116

## Abstract

SUMMARY
The University of Hawai`i Cancer Center (UHCC) SPORE Career Enhancement Program (CEP) will identify and
mentor investigators who show promise for independent research careers in translational research in minority
health and correcting ethnic/racial disparities in cancer. We understand that creating a sustained, high-impact
minority health program is dependent upon attracting the most promising investigators from a diverse talented
pool inclusive of underrepresented groups including racial/ethnic and sexual/gender minorities, women, veterans,
and individuals with disabilities, to help these faculty members excel through quality mentorship and research
support. UH Cancer Center members have access to unique opportunities in Hawai`i and the Pacific to do
innovative research in minority health and disparities research in cancer due to the multiple racial and ethnic
populations living here and their varying cancer incidence and outcomes. Further, Hawai`i's high-quality health
care and cancer registration systems offers access to needed resources for these studies. UHCC has an
extensive record of successfully working with Hawaii's multiethnic population around minority health issues and
to identify and understand disparities in various cancers. We also have a long track record of mentoring our
promising junior faculty to independent research careers with particular success among researchers from
AANHPI background. The UHCC has also been successful engaging established researchers in developing new
projects in minority health and disparities research by providing forums to disseminate and discuss ideas that
are important to cancer prevention and treatment in our catchment. The goal of the CEP is to provide funding and
mentoring to junior faculty to develop independent research programs and to provide support to established
investigators to greatly enhance or refocus their careers on minority health research. In service of this goal, we
propose the following Specific Aims: 1) Coordinate identification of promising new research in disparities
research from junior faculty and established investigators looking to refocus their research in this area; 2) Provide
training, career development and mentoring to awardees in minority health research; 3) Monitor the progress of
CEP awardees as they develop independent careers and/or new research programs in minority health, and
assess effectiveness of the CEP approach. Through these activities, we will foster development of new diverse
faculty who conducts highly collaborative translational research in minority health focusing on Asian Americans,
Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders aimed at understanding differences in cancer risk and outcomes and
correcting ethnic/racial disparities in Hawai`i, the Pacific Islands, and more broadly on the US and global stages.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10931614
- **Project number:** 5P20CA275734-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA
- **Principal Investigator:** GERTRAUD MASKARINEC
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $74,116
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-09-19 → 2026-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10931614

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10931614, Career Enhancement Program (5P20CA275734-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10931614. Licensed CC0.

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