2/2 CCNY-MSKCC Partnership for Cancer Research, Education and Community Outreach

NIH RePORTER · NIH · U54 · $1,496,000 · view on reporter.nih.gov ↗

Abstract

The CCNY-MSKCC Partnership has successfully created a mutually beneficial, cross-institutional collaboration that has emphasized research across the translational T0-T4 continuum, the creation of an education pipeline for attracting underrepresented students from diverse backgrounds to careers in cancer research, and the establishment of community networks and resources for conducting linguistically and culturally responsive community engaged outreach and research among diverse, at-risk populations. Over the next five years, the Partnership focus will be Translational Cancer Research for Health Equity. Consistent with this emphasis, our research projects will focus on: 1) understanding the biological and social determinants of health factors that increase risk for adverse events associated with immune checkpoint inhibitors and evaluating a social drivers of health intervention designed to reduce side effect severity and improve treatment adherence; 2) an examination of small molecule regulation of cancer-driving transcription factors using an integrated strategy of structural, chemical, and cellular approaches that could lead to targeted treatments relevant to cancers common in underserved populations; 3) the impact of AI integrated, UN-style medical interpreting engineering solutions on access to cancer care; 4) identification of germline and/or ancestry/race-specific environmental/social factors influencing the tumor genome of lung cancers and the joint effect of African ancestry and smoking on somatic mutations. The Specific Aims are to (1) continue to develop outstanding cancer research programs, through the lens of health equity, on social determinants of health, biomedical engineering, computer science, medical imaging, cancer cell biology, precision medicine, and immunology along the Translational Research Continuum; (2) collaborate with diverse communities to conduct and facilitate trailblazing cancer disparities research, outreach, education, risk reduction, and navigation activities to define and address cancer disparities, with the goal of improving cancer care in the large, medically underserved local and national communities; (3) continue to develop and expand educational opportunities in a robust translational cancer research environment to attract, nurture and retain students and Early-Stage Investigators interested in cancer research, particularly underrepresented students and low-income students; and (4) expand and integrate the personnel development, resources, and environment needed for scientific collaboration across institutions, to increase capacity for linguistically and culturally responsive research and clinical care, and to influence institutional policies to support and sustain translational research in cancer disparities and health equity. .

Key facts

NIH application ID
11012069
Project number
2U54CA137788-16
Recipient
SLOAN-KETTERING INST CAN RESEARCH
Principal Investigator
Tim Alan Ahles
Activity code
U54
Funding institute
NIH
Fiscal year
2024
Award amount
$1,496,000
Award type
2
Project period
2008-09-26 → 2029-08-31