Abstract: A critical requirement to sustain the rapid advances in clinical oncology research that have been made over the last 20 years is to train and mentor the next generation of cancer clinician-investigators. Individuals who can write and carry out clinical trials that will promote increasing benefit for cancer patients are a crucial resource that must be preserved. The objectives of the NYU K12 Program are to provide the protected time which will foster the creativity, drive, and intellectual skills necessary to produce investigators who will make the key clinical discoveries in cancer research over the next few decades. We seek to equip scholars with career development skills that will guide them through productive careers as clinician-investigators. This first-time proposal is based on a record of training and mentoring outstanding clinical researchers while serving as junior faculty at NYU, the provision of a strong institutional commitment to support development of clinician investigators, representation of experienced and motivated medical, radiation and surgical oncologists among the mentors, an emphasis on informatics and computational biology and critical infrastructure that is part of an institutional Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) to leverage the strengths of the greater institution. NYU K12 scholars will complete training on the responsible conduct of research, general and targeted formal didactics instruction addressing proficiency in clinical and translational research, Master’s-level training in multidisciplinary clinical research, specialized course work, training in team science, individualized and didactic training in grant preparation, exposure to alternative career opportunities, and mentored performance of an innovative high- impact translational research project. Expectations at completion include publication of 2-3 first and/or senior author manuscripts and submission of a K- or R-level grant or equivalent. Three scholars yearly will dedicate 75% effort to research and career development activities for up to three years each, supervised by mentors with extensive and outstanding mentoring experience. A strongly invested K12 Executive Committee and a broad and diverse program faculty will promote each scholar’s mentoring. Our first aim is to provide personalized mentoring and didactic training to advance the clinical and translational research careers of our cohort of K12 scholars. Our second aim is to allow the K12 scholars to identify, choose and pursue research opportunities relevant to advancing the field of clinical oncology. Our third aim is to enable K12 scholars to establish multidisciplinary clinical and translational research networks and collaborations to ensure the success of their efforts and promote their careers in clinical oncology research.

In this K12 proposal we wish to establish a training and mentoring program for junior faculty in oncology specialties including hematology-medical oncology, radiation, surgical, gynecologic, neurosurgical and urologic oncology that will provide comprehensive education, training and mentoring for scholars interested in a clinical research career. We will expand existing programs at the Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center (PCC) and leverage ongoing training efforts within the NYU Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) to create an integrated, full-thickness training, mentoring and follow-up program. Our long-term objective is to recruit the next class of scholars in oncology clinical research that will launch careers in clinical investigation and promote their ability to assume leadership roles at PCC and elsewhere.