ABSTRACT We propose renewal of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Cancer Prevention and Control Training Program T32 training grant. Our training program is the only one in the Deep South (Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina). The Deep South has high cancer mortality rates and an increased prevalence of multiple chronic diseases, including obesity and diabetes, which are risk factors for cancer that disproportionately affect African Americans. Our Specific Aims are to: (1) recruit well-qualified pre- and postdoctoral Fellows, especially those from underrepresented minority (URM) backgrounds, who aspire to become independent cancer prevention and control researchers and who will address the complex health care challenges in the Deep South; (2) train pre- and postdoctoral Fellows in cancer prevention and control research, transdisciplinary research methods, and research ethics while developing their professional, relational, and leadership skills; (3) leverage UAB’s rich training environment to provide collaboration opportunities within the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center Cancer Control and Population Science Program; and (4) evaluate and enhance how well the training program meets the needs of our Fellows and expands the pipeline of future cancer prevention and control scientists. Our training program has three components: mentoring, experiential learning, and coursework. Fellows will receive individualized support from a dual-mentor team selected from our pool of 49 faculty mentors, selected for their prior successful mentoring experience and strong research track records. Experiential learning activities will center primarily on immersion in the laboratories of Fellows’ primary mentors. All Fellows will write a grant application and design and conduct their own research study, leveraging the numerous collaborative opportunities within the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center and UAB’s Cancer Control and Population Sciences program. Fellows will disseminate their work via peer- reviewed publications and presentations at scientific conferences. Five required courses cover cancer prevention and control topics, transdisciplinary research, research ethics, grant writing, diversity/equity/inclusion, and one elective topic. New curricular innovations introduce transdisciplinary research, an approach to creating new knowledge that builds upon standard team science methodologies via integrating new perspectives provided by partners from not only academia, but also industry, government or community groups. To foster transdisciplinary work, our training curriculum includes a new annual transdisciplinary science workshop and a mini-sabbatical. Over the last 35 years, we have trained 171 cancer prevention and control scientists, 82.5% of whom have launched successful careers, predominantly in cancer-related fields; and 35.6% of whom are NIH- defined researchers from URM backgrounds. This track record demonstrates how seriously we take NIH’s goal to train a diverse cancer-focused scientific workforce, and we are prepared to build upon this legacy of success.

PROJECT NARRATIVE Our goal is to renew the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Cancer Prevention and Control Training Program T32 training grant, the only one in the heart of the United States Deep South. We intend to train the next generation of cancer prevention and control scientists to conduct transdisciplinary research – an approach to creating new knowledge that builds upon standard team science approaches via exposure to new perspectives. Program components include high-quality mentorship by dual-mentor teams, experiential learning, and didactive courses that foster (a) knowledge acquisition regarding cancer prevention and control research, transdisciplinary research, and research ethics; and (b) professional, relational, and leadership skill development.