Overview
Begun in 2003 and funded in 2005, the goal of the UMB-DF/HCC U56 Cancer Partnership Program is to address health disparities in minority populations and to improve research, training, and outreach opportunities for minority students, fellows, and scientists. This U56 Partnership is led by Drs. Adán Colón-Carmona (UMB) and Karen Emmons (DF/HCC) and is funded by the National Cancer Institute. Additional leadership is provided by an Internal Advisory Committee (IAC) that helps develop interdisciplinary programs of collaborative research. The IAC has four subcommittees:
-The Population and Clinical Science Subcommittee, led by Elyse Park, Ph.D., M.P.H. (DF/HCC)
-The Basic Science Subcommittee, led by William Kaelin, M.D. (DF/HCC)
-The Training Subcommittee, co-led by Karen Burns White, M.S. (DF/HCC) and Joan Becker, Ed.D. (UMB)
-The Outreach Subcommittee, co-led by Jennifer Dacey Allen, D.Sc., M.P.H., R.N. (DF/HCC) and John Pérez, Ph.D. (UMB)
Resources Available Through the U56
The U56 provides opportunities for investigators at each institution to collaborate, pilot monies to support these collaborations, and opportunities for students and fellows to be involved in cutting edge scientific work. There is currently one funding cycles remaining until the end of the U56 grant period. In 2010 we anticipate competing for a U54 grant, which will include 2-3 full projects (~$275K/year), several pilot projects, and core resources. All funded projects must have investigators from both UMB and DF/HCC. Please visit our annoucements page for more information on our Call for Concept Papers (http://www.u56.umb.edu/announcements.html)
Connecting across institutions
Opportunities are available to:
- compete for U56 pilot project awards and participate in partnership collaborations with experienced clinicians and researchers at DF/HCC or with experienced researchers having community ties and a diverse student body at UMB
- compete for developmental awards throughout the DF/HCC
- contribute to understanding and reducing cancer disparities. Support the training of talented new students and researchers
Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC)
The DF/HCC is the largest NCI designated comprehensive cancer center. Founded in 1997, DF/HCC was established to harness the enormous expertise and resources of Harvard’s preeminent cancer research institutions into one collective force dedicated to the fight against cancer. DF/HCC comprises seven Harvard-affiliated institutions: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital Boston, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health, and Massachusetts General Hospital.
The DF/HCC research approach is designed to foster collaboration and teamwork among its members (currently over 1.000), who have expertise in three broad areas of cancer investigation – basic research, clinical research and population science. Research is conducted within a broad range of interconnected disease- and discipline-based programs. Supporting the member are DF/HCC core facilities, which provide state-of-the art technologies and expert guidance in their use. UMB and Harvard faculty are eligible to apply for membership status in DF/HCC. http://www.dfhcc.harvard.edu/
DF/HCC also has additional funding opportunities for researchers including:
- The Nodal Point award funds proposals submitted in collaboration from at least 2 DF/HCC members. Awards are up to $75,000 for 2 years. (http://www.dfhcc.harvard.edu/news/announcements/article/375/1397/)
- The Timely Special Opportunity award offers $10,000 for developing projects between DF/HCC members (http://www.dfhcc.harvard.edu/funding-support-center/dfhcc-sponsored-funding/tso-award/)
University of Massachusetts at Boston
The University of Massachusetts at Boston is a public urban university serving a racially and ethnically diverse student body. Its 14,000 students are enrolled in graduate and undergraduate programs ranging from Nursing and Health Sciences to Environmental Science, Public Policy, Clinical Psychology and Applied Sociology. Many faculty engage with students in community-oriented research, often in collaboration with campus-based research and outreach centers. www.umb.edu
UMB resources include community-based programs, a nationally known survey research center, ethnic institutes, public policy programs, and a diverse and talented study body and community-engaged faculty. Funded students are also available for research placements through UMB’s Ronald E. McNair Fellowship Program that supports and encourages minority students to attend graduate school in pursuit of research careers in Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Computer Science, Physics, Psychology, Anthropology or Geography/Earth Science; and The Initiative for Maximizing Student Diversity (IMSD) Program which encourages undergraduate under-represented minority students to attend Ph.D. biomedical programs. We can facilitate the recruitment and placement of UMB McNair and IMSD Fellows at both UMB and the DF/HCC.
U56 funded pilot projects
- Obesity/Weight Loss Intervention for African-American Women
- PhD Program in Health Policy Targeted to Cancer Nursing Care and Health Disparities
- Educating Underserved Communities about Cancer Clinical Trials
- The Boston-Cambridge-Quincy Metropolitan Dominican Immigrant Household Survey
- Understanding Prayer as a Coping Mechanism among Cancer Patients
- Racial Disparities in Cancer Care at the End of Life (RADICCAL)
- Needs Assessment of Haitian Community
- Aberrant Chromosome Segregation without Cancerous Growth: CENP-E Proteins in Arabidopsis
- Examination of Sporulation-specific Spliceosome Recruitment
- In Vivo Analysis of Membrane Receptor Signaling by Dissecting Multi-Protein Complex Formation
-Health Communication Channels among Nontraditional College Students
-Current Health Behaviors and Motivational Readiness to Pursue Behavioral Change among African American and European American Lung Cancer Patients and their Families
- Prayer and Well-Being among Cancer Patients: A Randomized, Controlled Trial
- Cancer Screening among Latinos in Churches
Recently funded pilots projects
-Development of Fluorescent Small Molecule Probes of Cancer Cell Lines
-Quantification of Platium levels of serum, tissues,and bone of patients treated with Pt-based chemotherapy drugs
OUR MISSION IS TO HELP FACILITATE COLLABORATIONS BETWEEN DF/HCC AND UMB RESERCHERS. PLEASE CONTACT US IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. WE WANT TO HELP MAKE THESE IMPORTANT CONNECTIONS.
For more information please contact the Program Coordinator,
Lori-anne Ramsay at Lori-anne.Ramsay@umb.edu, or any of the IAC subcommittee chairs:
Population/Clinical Science: epark@partners.org
Basic Science: William_Kaelin@dfci.harvard.edu
Training: karen_burnswhite@dfci.harvard.edu; joan.becker@umb.edu
Outreach: jennifer_allen@dfci.harvard.edu; john.perez@umb.edu
U56 Principal Investigators:
DF/HCC- Karen Emmons (Karen_M_Emmons@dfci.harvard.edu)
UMB- Adán Colón-Carmona (adan.colon-carmona@umb.edu)