Training Opportunities in Cancer Epidemiology

Introduction

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) offers many opportunities for research training and education that are particularly suited to fostering careers in cancer epidemiology and genetics.

NCI’s Cancer Training Branch manages the majority of NCI’s awards to institutions and individuals pursuing  training and career development opportunities in cancer research at organizations throughout the United States. For questions, contact the appropriate Program Director for the grant of interest.

Institutional Awards

• R25E Cancer Education Grant Program – Any not-for-profit or for-profit organization engaged in health-related education research, or training and located in the United States may apply for funding to develop (i) innovative cancer education programs; and (ii) cancer research dissemination projects that can be completed within 5 years.
• R25T Cancer Education and Career Development Program – Institutional award for predoctoral or postdoctoral candidates or mentored junior faculty who are pursuing careers in cancer prevention, control, behavioral, and population sciences or transdisciplinary sciences.
• T32 Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Institutional Research Training Grants – Institutional award for predoctoral or postdoctoral candidates or mentored junior faculty who are pursuing careers in basic science.

Individual Awards

• F32 Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards for Individual Postdoctoral Fellows – Supports individuals with a doctoral degree (e.g., M.D., Ph.D., D.P.H.) for a three-year period of supervised research experience to achieve independence.
• K05 Established Investigator Award in Cancer Prevention, Control, Behavioral, and Population Research – Provides established investigators protected time to devote to research and to act as mentors for young investigators.
• K07 Cancer Prevention, Control, Behavioral and Population Sciences Career Development Award – This mechanism provides support for three to five years of specialized didactic study and mentored research for individuals with a health professional or science doctoral degree who are not fully established investigators and who want to pursue research careers in the cancer prevention, control, population and/or behavioral sciences.
• K08 Mentored Clinical Scientist Career Development Award – Supports individual candidates with a clinical doctoral degree (e.g., M.D.) or equivalent, to become well-trained laboratory-based cancer researchers.
• K12 Paul Calabresi Award for Clinical Oncology – This is a multi- and transdisciplinary institutional training award supporting the research career development of clinicians only or clinicians and Ph.D. basic scientists to: 1) perform clinical oncology therapeutic research that develops and tests scientific hypotheses based on fundamental and clinical research findings; 2) design and test hypothesis-based, clinical therapeutic protocols and adjunct biological analyses and for clinician candidates to administer all phases (i.e., pilot/Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III) of cancer therapeutic clinical trials; and (3) conduct cancer therapeutic research in team research settings in which basic and clinical scientists collaborate and interact to expedite the translation of basic research discoveries into patient-oriented therapeutic cancer research.
• K22 Transition Career Development Award – Supports "protected time" for newly independent investigators to develop and receive support for their initial cancer-research programs.
• K23 Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award – Supports the career development of clinically trained professionals who have made a commitment to focus on patient-oriented research.
• K24 Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research – Provides clinicians protected time for patient-oriented research and to act as mentors for beginning clinical investigators.
• K25 Mentored Quantitative Scientist Career Development Program – Supports the career development of investigators, with quantitative scientific and engineering backgrounds outside of biology or medicine, who have made a commitment to focus their research endeavors on behavioral and biomedical research (basic or clinical).
• K99/R00 Howard Temin Pathway to Independence Award in Cancer Research – Supports the career development of investigators who have made a commitment to focus their research on cancer prevention, control, behavioral and the population sciences.

Additional NCI Training Opportunities

• Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities – Offers internship, fellowship, career development, and training opportunities focused on the training of students, researchers and faculty from racially and ethnically diverse populations that are underrepresented in biomedical research.
• Cancer Prevention Fellowship Program
• Summer Curriculum in Cancer Prevention
• Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics Fellowships
• Other NCI Fellowships and Internships