Letter of Hope from the Office of Cancer Training and Career Enhancement

We will achieve Huntsman Cancer Institute’s goal of a cancer-free future by improving clinical care, prevention, and cancer screening through basic, population-based, and clinical research. Over the last several decades, great strides have been made in each of these areas, but successfully treating cancer spans decades. To meet this challenge, Huntsman Cancer Institute is 100% committed to training the next generation of cancer researchers and physicians.

The mission of the Office of Cancer Training and Career Enhancement is to provide exceptional training opportunities for high school students, college undergraduates, graduate and medical students, post-doctoral fellows, and junior faculty. Our National Cancer Institute-funded PathMaker Program for Cancer Research provides 10-week intensive research experiences for rising high school seniors and early undergraduate students from populations that are traditionally underrepresented in the biomedical research workforce. This program also provides research and curriculum-development opportunities to middle school teachers, increasing its reach and impact.

In 2023, we launched a new research program in partnership with the 5 For The Fight Foundation. It provides research opportunities for college undergraduates at Howard University, an historically Black school. This program will expand in 2024 with 5 For The Fight’s long-term goal growing to include nine additional comprehensive cancer centers across the United States. For more advanced learners, we help guide and provide career-development workshops through the Huntsman Alliance for Postdocs, and we have a program that provides career development funding for underrepresented researchers or those investigating cancer health disparities across the Area We Serve. These are just a few examples of the many programs provided by our office and we look forward to adding more in the future.

“Successfully treating cancer spans decades. To meet this challenge, Huntsman Cancer Institute is 100% committed to training the next generation of cancer researchers and physicians.”

You’ll have undoubtedly noticed that many of our training efforts are geared toward those that are traditionally underrepresented in the biomedical workforce. This is an intentional decision because the data is quite clear that a diversity of backgrounds, experiences, races, and ethnicities elevates scientific discovery and innovation. Furthermore, from a clinical perspective, it is well known that patients receive better treatment from a primary physician with a similar race/ethnicity and life experience. In short, the Office of Cancer Training and Career Enhancement strives to create an inclusive training environment and celebrates the many positive benefits of training a diverse team.

We have come far since President Nixon declared the War on Cancer in 1972, but much remains to be done. Our past, present, and future learners are incredibly smart, dedicated, and compassionate. Their research builds on the generations that came before them. Equipped with more knowledge and technological advances too numerous to name, Huntsman Cancer Institute’s goal of a cancer-free future is in very capable hands. It is too early to claim that the next generation of cancer researchers will be the one to reach Mr. Huntsman’s audacious goal of eliminating cancer from the face of the earth, but we wouldn’t bet against them!

Thank you,
The Office of Cancer Training and Career Enhancement