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Twenty-five-Year Follow-up of Short-term Cancer Research Trainees at the University of Alabama at Birmingham: a Brief Report

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Abstract

Long-term follow-up is needed to evaluate the impact of short-term cancer research programs on the career trajectories of medical and graduate students. Participation in these programs may be crucial in fostering the next generation of cancer research scientists. This report presents the career outcomes and research productivity of 77 medical and public health students with 25 years of tracking data following their participation in a summer cancer research training program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in 1990–1998. Of 64 summer trainees with contact information, complete survey responses were received from 55 (86.0%) individuals. Over half reported clinical care of cancer patients and 18.2% stated that they were engaged in cancer research. Literature searches confirmed that 23.4% (18/77) of trainees have published cancer research papers. Future studies should explore the optimal timing of short-term post-baccalaureate academic cancer training experiences to identify participant characteristics and institutional factors that influence career choices and determine research productivity.

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Acknowledgements

The content of this article is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not represent the views of the National Cancer Institute. The authors thank Ms. Sandra Reid, formerly of the UAB School of Health Professions, for her assistance in locating former trainees.

Funding

The UAB Cancer Prevention and Control Training Program (CPCTP) was funded by National Cancer Institute grant R25CA047888 and the Cancer Research Experiences for Students (CaRES) program is funded by National Cancer Institute grant R25CA076023.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    Renee A. Desmond

  2. Department of Anesthesiology, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA, USA

    Raam Venkatesh

  3. Department of Epidemiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, RHPB 220, 1530 3rd Avenue South, Birmingham, AL, 35294-0022, USA

    Luz A. Padilla, Allison G. Litton & John W. Waterbor

  4. USA Mitchell Cancer Institute, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA

    Casey L. Daniel

  5. Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health, Nashville, TN, USA

    Douglas C. Heimburger

  6. School of Health Professions, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    C. Michael Brooks

Authors
  1. Renee A. Desmond
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  2. Raam Venkatesh
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  3. Luz A. Padilla
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  4. Casey L. Daniel
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  5. Allison G. Litton
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  6. Douglas C. Heimburger
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  7. C. Michael Brooks
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  8. John W. Waterbor
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to John W. Waterbor.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of our institution and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. For this type of study, formal consent is not required.

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Desmond, R.A., Venkatesh, R., Padilla, L.A. et al. Twenty-five-Year Follow-up of Short-term Cancer Research Trainees at the University of Alabama at Birmingham: a Brief Report. J Canc Educ 34, 1010–1013 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-018-1404-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-018-1404-y

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