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The North Carolina PARTNERS Program: Preparing Undergraduates for Research Careers in Cancer Prevention, Causes, and
Temitope O Keku1,2, Trinnette Cooper3, LaHoma Smith Romocki4
1Center for Gastrointestinal Disease and Biology, University of North Carolina, 103 Mason Farm Road, 7340-C MBRB, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7032, USA. tokeku@med.unc.edu.
Abstract:
Eliminating disparities in cancer prevention, causes, and treatment is essential to reducing cancer death rates and improving overall health outcomes for all Americans, especially in racial and ethnic communities. Addressing this goal requires expanding the biomedical workforce of researchers from underrepresented groups, physicians, and public health professionals representing those populations. The PARTNERS Cancer Education Program was a collaboration between a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), North Carolina Central University (NCCU), and a research-intensive institution, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (UNC-CH). PARTNERS was integrative and unique in providing NCCU fellows with 2 years of research education. Both NCCU and UNC-CH fellows participated in 10 weeks of mentored research experiences. The fellows gained cultural awareness and specific knowledge about cancer disparities among different racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups and developed the professional skills necessary to compete successfully for admission to graduate or professional programs. Seventy-five fellows participated in PARTNERS between 2011 and 2021, with 31 NCCU undergraduate students in Cancer Biology, 23 NCCU undergraduate students in Public Health, and 21 UNC-CH undergraduate students in Cancer Biology. Of those who completed the program and graduated college, 66% of Cancer Biology and 67% of Public Health fellows have obtained or are pursuing advanced degrees (Master's, MPH, PhD) in graduate or professional programs, medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy. PARTNERS Alumni have co-authored 45 peer-reviewed papers. The career trajectory of PARTNERS fellows suggests the program is an innovative and successful model for addressing undergraduate students' academic and professional workforce preparedness and promoting research careers in cancer health disparities.
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