NCI Awardee Skills Development Consortium (NASDC): Applicant profiles

11030

Background: In 2020, the NCI funded a new educational consortium, NASDC (NCI Awardee Skills Development Consortium, RFA-CA-19-010 and -011), through four institutionally granted UE5 awards to deliver a specific course each and a U24 award as a Coordinating Center. The goal is to teach current early-career faculty NCI grantees skills in areas critical for successful independent academic cancer research careers. Courses focus on leadership and socioemotional skills, health disparities, immuno-oncology, and cell and gene therapy. Teaching will initially be virtual, given the COVID pandemic. Methods: A steering committee and four working groups were established to build the consortium infrastructure, including the NASDC (osu.edu) website. Clientele are early-career faculty PD/PI of a current NCI-funded grant (K01, K07, K08, K22, K23, K25, R00, R21, DP1, DP2, DP5, R01, R23, R29, R37, R56, RF1, RL1, U01), of whom 454 were directly contacted. Blast emails and social media were also used. We are reporting the characteristics of 154 applicants, who completed the RedCap application online. Results: 85% of the applicants are within the first 5 years of a faculty appointment, 87% at the assistant professor rank, and 65% on tenure track. 40% hold an M.D. degree and 72% a Ph.D. 81% are US citizens, 52% females, and 45/33/16/2/4%-11% are White/Asian/Black/Native Americans/Other–Hispanics/Latino. 76% work at NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers. Mean protected research time is 80%. Non-mutually exclusive fields of research interest are therapeutics (46%), basic science (37%), disparities (34%) prevention (32%), public health (28%), and pediatrics (10%). 66% have received a K-award grant, 13% each an R21 or R00, and 3% an R01. Additionally, 35% had a second NCI grant as PI, 10% a third grant, and 60% had non-NCI grants. Reasons for applying included (1) not quite ready to lead a research team (42%), (2) need for stronger career mentoring (37%), and (3) not being fully confident in research skills (21%). Conclusions: Applicants to the new NCI educational consortium (NASDC) have a successful start to their academic career with a third having obtained more than one NCI award. Most applicants work at NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers. As cancer research continues to evolve and has the potential to address critical health care needs of the nation, NASDC will strive to equip scientists to be leaders, teach advances in technology, and impart confidence in research skills.

Risk perception and cancer worries in families at increased risk of familial breast/ovarian cancer

While families at increased risk for familial breast/ovarian cancer continue to overestimate their cancer risk with increased cancer worries about the future, few studies have examined factors that affect inherited cancer risk perception and cancer worries in both survivors and unaffected female relatives. The purpose of this study was to examine variables that may affect cancer worries and risk perceptions from a family-based perspective in a racially diverse, community-based, random sample of 146 dyads consisting of adult female breast and/or ovarian cancer survivors and their unaffected female relatives (N=292). Results indicated that coping style, self-efficacy, partner's income, family role relationship, and cancer risk perception were significant contributors to the survivors' and their unaffected relatives' cancer worries. Significant variables for perception of cancer risk for both survivors and relatives included income, race, family history of cancer, and cancer worries. Relatives had a higher perception of cancer risk, whereas survivors had more cancer worries. Additionally, the level of cancer worries reported by one member of the dyad was related to the amount of worries reported by the other. The results from this study underscore the importance of clinicians addressing concerns of both affected and unaffected members of families at increased risk of cancer to assist them in managing cancer worries and having realistic risk appraisals to make informed decisions about their own and their family's health surveillance options.