CANCER DISPARITIES NEWS DIGEST (11.03.08)
Special Editor's Note: This issue contains a number of funding, training, and employment opportunities you won't want to miss. Be sure to check them out at the links below.CRCHD Announcements
Spawning New Research: FY08 Supplements in Progress
The Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD), in collaboration with the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG), is pleased to fund two new supplements addressing cancer health disparities. One supplement will establish hormonal, metabolic, and cytokine profiles of African American and African men to help uncover biological reasons for the large disparity in prostate cancer risk. The other will examine long-term follow-up of the HPV Vaccine Trial in Costa Rica.
http://dceg.cancer.gov
Moving Forward with ET CURE FY08 Supplements
CRCHD is also excited to award three new ET CURE supplements to support the planning, implementation, and assessment of ET CURE research training. Funded sites are University of California - focusing on nanotechnology training, San Diego - specializing in biophotonics training, and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center -focusing on clinical proteomics training.
http://cancer.ucsd.edu/outreach/Participate/CURE.asp
http://www.fhcrc.org/science
http://cbst.ucdavis.edu/education
Establishing a Regional Approach to Reducing Cancer Health Disparities: GMaP FY08 Supplements
In addition, CRCHD is pleased to award two new GMaP supplements - one to Region 1 (Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia) and the other to Region 6 (California, Hawaii, Guam, and American Samoa). These supplements will support planning for the creation of state-of-the-art regional networks/centers dedicated to the coordination and support of cancer health disparities research, training, and outreach using a geographic management approach.
http://lombardi.georgetown.edu
Understanding the Role of Genomics in Health Disparities
Recently, CRCHD, in collaboration with the Human Genome Institute and the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD), hosted a ground-breaking working meeting between basic scientists and psychosocial researchers aimed at identifying and outlining contributions genetics and genomics can and should have on racial and ethnic health disparities. Proceedings from this meeting will be forthcoming.
http://www.genome.gov
http://dceg.cancer.gov
Dr. Sanya Springfield, in the Wall Street Journal, Discusses Cancer Health Disparity Gaps
With ethnic minorities and immigrants fast becoming the collective U.S. majority and cancer disparities still prevalent, "cultural factors," says the NCI CRCHD's director, Dr. Sanya Springfield, "are now being recognized as a 'significant' part of the problem."
http://online.wsj.com/article
NIH Record's Update on CRCHD Summit '08
NIH Record features highlights from the NCI CRCHD's recent Cancer Health Disparities Summit '08, spotlighting a number of our grantees' efforts to advance the science of cancer disparity research and reduce disparities.
http://nihrecord.od.nih.gov/newsletters
Cancer News from NCI, NIH, and other Federal Agencies
From NCI
New Tool! Reagent Data Portal for Antigens and Antibodies
The Clinical Proteomic Technologies for Cancer's (CPTC) Reagents and Resources web portal offers highly characterized monoclonal antibodies to human proteins associated with cancer at a very economical price. All antigens and antibodies are expressed, purified, produced and characterized using standard operating procedures (SOPs) that are freely accessible to the public.
http://cpti.abcc.ncifcrf.gov/
Most Comprehensive American Indian Cancer Incidence Report
The complete data on various cancer types and risk factors from the Cancer Incidence Report on American Indians and Alaska Natives is now available on-line.
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com
Large-Scale Effort Identifies New Genetic Mutations, Core Pathways
The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Research Network, a collaborative effort funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), reports first results of its large-scale, comprehensive study of the most common form of brain cancer, glioblastoma (GBM).
http://www.nih.gov/news/health
From NIH
Approaching Health Disparities from a Population Perspective: the NIH Centers for Population Health and Health Disparities
The NIH-sponsored Centers for Population Health and Health Disparities (CPHHD) investigators find that the stress of social isolation in nonhuman animals promotes tumor development by activating stress hormone receptors and ultimately preventing the death of malignant cells.
http://www.ajph.org
Review of Prostate Cancer Prevention Study Shows No Benefit for Use of Selenium and Vitamin E Supplements
Initial, independent review of study data from the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT), funded by the NCI and other NIH institutes showed that selenium and vitamin E supplements, taken either alone or together, did not prevent prostate cancer.
http://www.nih.gov/news/health
Be Sure to Note! NIH's New One Amendment Grant Resubmission Policy
NIH announced a change in the existing policy on resubmission (amended applications). Beginning with original new applications and competing renewal applications submitted for the January 25, 2009 due dates and beyond, the NIH will accept only a single amendment to the original application.
http://grants.nih.gov/grants
Other Federal Agencies
HRSA Awards $2.4 million for Patient Navigation Demonstration
HRSA recently announced six awards totaling nearly $2.4 million for a two-year project to assess how patient navigators can improve patients' chances of beating and managing chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity and asthma.
http://newsroom.hrsa.gov
African American Women and Mass Media (AAMM) Campaign
CDC launches the African American Women and Mass Media (AAMM) campaign to increase awareness of the importance of getting mammograms and increase use of National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program screening services among African American women aged 40-64 in Savannah and Macon, Georgia.
http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/healthdisparities
FDA Approves Expanded Uses for Gardasil to Include Preventing Certain Vulvar and Vaginal Cancer
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced, on September 12, the approval of the vaccine Gardasil for the prevention of vaginal and vulvar cancer caused by Human Papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 and 18 in girls and women ages 9 to 26. http://www.fda.gov/bbs
Cancer News From the Field
NCI Grantee Spotlights
Navigating the Maze of Cancer Care
Drs. Karen Freund and Tracy Battaglia, co-principal investigators for the Boston University Patient Navigation Research Program (PNRP), along with their trained patient navigators, are spotlighted on the Boston University website for their work in helping disadvantaged, underserved, immigrant women without friends or family in one of Boston's many diverse navigation find cancer care.
http://www.bu.edu/research/spotlight
Dr. Ana Maria Lopez, Uses Telemedicine Program to Treat and Provide Cancer Care
Dr. Ana Maria Lopez, an oncologist and medical director of the University of Arizona's Telemedicine Program, sees that Hispanic, underserved and the poor living in Tucson, Arizona, receive state-of-the-art care without leaving Nogales.
http://www.cancer.gov/ncicancerbulletin
Annual Cancer Summit Discusses Disparities Issues in Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
According to Dr. Moon Chen, PI of the CNP AANCART project, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are the only U.S. racial and ethnic group for which cancer is the leading cause of death due to a variety of reasons including lifestyle, culture, social economic, and linguistic challenges.
http://www.asianfortunenews.com
Enhancing Practice
Prostate Cancer: Fact Sheet. National Cancer Institute, State Cancer Legislative Database Program
Information on states with laws mandating prostate cancer screening coverage can now be downloaded.
http://www.scld-nci.net/factsheets/pdf
M.D. Anderson Study Finds Racial Disparities Exist in Radiation Therapy Rates for Early Stage Breast Cancer
Black women found to be less likely than white women to receive radiation therapy after a lumpectomy.
http://www.mdanderson.org/departments/newsroom
Working Group on Extreme Inequality Mobilizes, Educates, and Advocates
There is a useful, new web resource from the Working Group on Extreme Inequality housed by the Institute for Policy Studies, providing a collection of data and articles on increasing wealth inequalities and racism.
http://extremeinequality.org/
Large, Multi-Center Trial Demonstrates Comparable Accuracy for Virtual Colonoscopy and Standard Colonoscopy
Recent findings from this large multi-center study of asymptomatic adults support and extend previously published data regarding the role of CT colonography in screening patients with average risk of colorectal cancer.
http://content.nejm.org
Study Provides Clues about How Cancer Cells Develop Resistance to Chemotherapy Drug
Researchers show increased expression of a gene called SIRT1 in cancer cells plays a significant role in the development of resistance to the chemotherapy drug cisplatin.
http://mcr.aacrjournals.org
F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America
Although many promising programs have emerged in communities to promote healthy eating and exercise, a state by state analysis conducted by Trust for America's Health (TFAH), finds these programs are not preventing the spread of obesity.
http://www.rwjf.org/newsroom
The Role of the Media in Promoting and Reducing Tobacco Use
New monograph begins the important process of understanding the full extent of scientific literature on media communication in tobacco promotion and tobacco control among youth-an extremely vulnerable population.
http://cancercontrol.cancer.gov
Alternative Vaccine Strategy Shows Promise in Prostate Cancer Patients
New research indicates that giving patients a continuous low dose of an immune system booster, a method known as metronomic dosing, as part of a therapeutic prostate cancer vaccine strategy is safe and produces similar immune responses and fewer side effects than the more common dosing method, which is not well tolerated by many patients.
http://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org
Select News Stories
Black Women & Breast Cancer: Facts vs. Fiction
Do you know someone affected by breast cancer - an aunt, sister, mother, wife or friend? You are not alone. One in eight women born today will learn they have breast cancer in their lifetime, according to the NCI. More unsettling: African-American women are more likely to die from breast cancer than any other ethnic group. http://www.journeytowellness.com
Black Press Series Aims to Decrease Cancer Rates in Black Community
The News Service of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, the Black press of America, has launched a new op-ed series and partnership with the NCI, aimed to quell the disparate rate of cancer in the African-American community and educate Black newspaper readers on the best possible preventive and treatment measures in order to save lives. http://www.stlamerican.com
Tuskegee, a Cloud over Research
Steps to address the under representation of black Americans of black Americans in research beginning with the recruitment of more minority physicians into clinical research are discussed. http://www.washingtonpost.com
Health Disparities Field Experience at Mayo Clinic
Innovative health disparities program at the Mayo Clinic, called 'Take a Health Professional to the People Day," includes a feature on a NIH funded community-based obesity program among Native Hawaiians. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com
Report Examines Presidential Candidates' Health Care Proposals for Reducing Racial Health Disparities
Recent report describes factors contributing to and the effects of racial health disparities, as well as previous efforts to reduce disparities. http://www.kaisernetwork.org
AAFP Past President Calls for End to Health Care Disparities
Health care disparities can be attributed not just to racial and ethnic factors, but also to socioeconomic and geographic conditions, according to Former American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) President Warren A. Jones, M.D.. http://www.fda.gov/bbs
Funding, Training, and Employment Opportunities
Disparities-Related Funding Opportunities
NCI's Innovative Molecular Analysis Technologies Funding Opportunities
The Innovative Molecular Analysis Technologies (IMAT) program now encompasses an array of 11 closely related Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs). Each FOA is segregated based on theme and type of funding mechanism. IMAT supports research projects aimed at developing creative methods and tools by which to understand, prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer.
http://imat.cancer.gov
Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Short-Term Institutional Research Training Grants (T35)
This T35 is for eligible institutions to develop or enhance research training opportunities for individual students, pre-doctorates and post-doctorates interested in careers in biomedical, behavioral and clinical research.
PA-08-227
Johns Hopkins Center for Health Disparities Solutions (CHDS) Seeks Health Disparities' Proposals
CHDS is seeking proposals to support pilot and feasibility grants to advance research in the area of health or health care disparities. Awards being made to post-doctoral fellows or junior faculty with a primary appointment in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Applications due by December 1, 2008. Email Diane Griffin for more information at dlgriffi@jhsph.edu.
Small Grants for Behavioral Research in Cancer Control (R03)
This funding opportunity, issued by NCI and NINR, provides support for either new investigators in cancer-related behavioral research, or investigators who want to refocus their research interests toward behavioral research in cancer control. Preliminary data for the proposed projects are not required.
Impact of Health Communication Strategies on Dietary Behaviors (R21)
Applicants encouraged for research projects focused on the development and implementation of effective communication strategies related to diet and health across diverse populations, and to evaluate effective communication approaches for changing dietary behaviors.
Small Grants Program for Cancer Epidemiology (R03)
Applications for research on cancer etiology and epidemiology.
Etiology, Prevention, and Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (R01/R21/P01)
Applications invited that focus on the basic biology, prevention, and/or treatment of liver cancer. Applications solely concerned with population studies and epidemiology will not be supported.
Investigational Nutrigenetic Studies for Cancer Prevention (R21/R01)
Applications solicited for research projects that examine whether genetic variants can predict individual response to dietary components that alter cancer processes and modify individual susceptibly to cancer.
Translating Basic Behavioral and Social Science Discoveries into Interventions to Reduce Obesity: Centers for Behavioral Intervention Development (U01)
Cooperative agreement (U01) applications invited from institutions/organizations that propose to translate findings from basic research on human behavior into more effective clinical, community, and population interventions to reduce obesity and improve obesity-related behaviors.
Integration of Mouse Models into Human Cancer Research (MMHCC) (U01)
The NCI-MMHCC seeks to integrate mouse models into basic, translational, epidemiological, and clinical cancer research.
Training and Employment Opportunities
Kellogg Health Scholars Program
Through this two-year post-doctoral program, scholars develop as leaders with research expertise to add to our knowledge about the nature of social disparities in health and interventions to reduce those disparities. The program offers two tracks with fellowship opportunities at eight training sites. Application deadline is Wednesday, December 3, 2008.
http://www.kellogghealthscholars.org/
Cancer Center Director, University of Colorado-Denver
The University of Colorado School of Medicine invites applications for the position of Director of the University of Colorado Cancer Center (UCCC). Review of applications will begin November 1, 2007 and continue until position is filled. Please reference job posting #802517. Applications are accepted electronically at:
www.jobsatcu.com
San Francisco State University Genetics, Plant Physiology, and Bioinformatics Positions Open
San Francisco State University (SFSU) seeks candidates studying any organism's genetics (Assistant Professor - Genetics). SFSU also seeks candidates whose interests complement departmental strengths in plant molecular biology, physiological ecology, and systematic biology (Assistant Professor - Plant Physiology). In addition, it is looking for candidates using computational, bioinformatics, or mathematical approaches to model and study system-level biological questions (Assistant Professor - Bioinformatics or Systems Biology). For more information, contact: cpfpcoordinator@mail.nih.gov
http://www.sfsu.edu/~biology/pages
Upcoming Meetings and Events
14th Annual Rural Minority & Multicultural Health Conference
December 11-12, 2008
Hilton Albuquerque
Albuquerque, NM
http://eseries.nrharural.org/source
Be sure to register! NIH Summit: The Science of Eliminating Health Disparities
December 16-18, 2008
Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center
National Harbor, MD
Visit the conference website at: http://www.blsmeetings.net
Second AACR Conference: The Science of Cancer Health Disparities
February 3-6, 2009
Carefree Resort and Villas
Carefree, AZ
Abstract Submission Deadline: November 17, 2008
Early Bird Registration Deadline: December 3, 2008
http://www.aacr.org/home
AACR Annual Meeting
April 18-22, 2009
Colorado Convention Center
Denver, CO
Abstract Submission and Award Application deadline: November 17, 2008.
http://www.aacr.org