Long-term tracking demonstrates effectiveness of a partnership-led training program to advance the careers of biomedical researchers from underrepresented groups

The demographic profile of the biomedical workforce in the U.S. does not reflect the population at large, raising concerns that there will be insufficient trained researchers in the future, and the scope of research interests will not be sufficiently broad. To diversify and expand the pool of researchers trained to conduct research on cancer and cancer health disparities, a series of training activities to recruit and train primarily Hispanic students at both the undergraduate and graduate level were developed. The strengths of both a Hispanic Serving Institution and an NIH-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center were leveraged to develop appropriate research training and professional development activities. The career progression of the participants and degree completion rates was tracked, along with persistent interest in biomedical research in general and cancer and cancer health disparities research in particular for these underrepresented individuals. Finally, this report demonstrates that these training activities increased general knowledge about cancer among participants.

美国生物医药从业人员（biomedical workforce）的人口统计学特征未能匹配全美整体人口结构，由此引发两大核心担忧：未来将出现训练有素的研究人员短缺局面，且研究兴趣的覆盖广度亦存在不足。为扩充并多元化癌症及癌症健康差异（cancer health disparities）研究领域的研究人员队伍，项目组开发了一系列培训活动，主要面向本科与研究生阶段的西班牙裔学生开展招募与培养工作。项目依托西班牙裔服务院校（Hispanic Serving Institution）与美国国立卫生研究院（NIH）认定的综合癌症中心的双重优势，开发了适配性的研究培训与职业发展活动。研究团队追踪了参训学员的职业发展轨迹与学位完成率，并持续关注这一代表性不足群体对生物医药研究整体、尤其是癌症及癌症健康差异研究的兴趣留存情况。最终，本报告证实，上述培训活动有效提升了参训学员对癌症相关知识的整体认知水平。