# Summer Undergraduate Program to Educate Radiation Scientists (SUPERS)

> **NIH NIH R25** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2020 · $192,336

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Despite the fact that radiation therapy is one of the three primary modalities used in the treatment of
cancer, the active number of researchers in the fields of radiation biology or physics has been in
decline over the past three decades. The Summer Undergraduate Program to Educate Radiation
Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania (SUPERS@PENN) was proposed as a means to begin to
reverse this recognized crisis. We hypothesize that by providing undergraduate students with a
supportive environment that teaches them the underpinnings of cancer and radiation biology, physics
and imaging, early in their college careers, that we will encourage a significant number of these
students to ultimately pursue cancer and radiation research as a career path. A key thrust of our
training program is to identify and recruit participants from various underrepresented populations,
thereby promoting greater diversity among radiation scientists. Initially submitted in 2009, the
program obtained strong support from study section (score 11, 1.0 percentile) received NIH funding in
2010 and was successful in competitive renewal in 2015. We have continued to successfully meet the
proposed aims of the program, with a large percentage of our alumni (including minority,
socioeconomically underprivileged and female gender) having now moved on to graduate programs,
with a continued focus on an eventual career in cancer and radiation research. Our goal for this
competitive renewal is to continue to build upon these robust successes. Individualized research
projects tailored to each student's interests and experience remain as the core component of the
SUPERS program. In addition, didactic lectures from faculty experts in the fields of cancer biology,
radiation biology, radiation physics and cancer imaging provide a foundation for students. Four hours
of bioethics training are incorporated into the didactic lecture series, as per NIH requirements. We
continue with the programmatic assessment and evaluative component. Working with colleagues in
the Office of Evaluation and Assessment in the Academic Programs at the Perelman School of
Medicine, SUPERS has developed methodologies to measure the immediate and long term impact of
the program on student participants as they transition from undergraduate to post-baccalaureate
studies and eventually into the early part of their research careers. In summary, by completing the
specific aims underlying this proposal, we anticipate that we will continue to have a positive impact on
quantity, quality and diversity of the next generation of scientists engaged in cancer and radiation
related research.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9935660
- **Project number:** 2R25CA140116-11
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** JAY FITZGERALD DORSEY
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $192,336
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2010-09-08 → 2026-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9935660

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9935660, Summer Undergraduate Program to Educate Radiation Scientists (SUPERS) (2R25CA140116-11). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9935660. Licensed CC0.

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