RACE21 PROGRAM PAVES THE WAY FOR UNDERREPRESENTED STUDENTS TO LEARN ABOUT CANCER RESEARCH
■❚ EDUCATION & TRAINING
ATTENTION , UAB UNDERGRADUATES :
RACE21 PROGRAM PAVES THE WAY FOR UNDERREPRESENTED STUDENTS TO LEARN ABOUT CANCER RESEARCH
The Roadmap for America ’ s Cancer Explorers for the 21st Century ( RACE21 ) program builds a pipeline for UAB undergraduate students interested in cancer research . Part of a larger initiative between the National Institute of Health ’ s National Cancer Institute and the O ’ Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center to increase underrepresented groups in cancer research , the scholarships support research activities in mentored laboratories by students selected for the program .
RACE21 students actively participating in cancer-related research complete a paid summer internship in their freshman and sophomore years . Junior and senior students actively participate in cancer-related research throughout the full year .
The research phase consists of rising freshman and sophomore students spending a nine-week internship during the summer carrying out a cancer-related research project in the laboratory of one of UAB ’ s funded biomedical researchers . Junior and senior students receive a scholarship stipend to continue cancer-related research during the year .
The research is designed in part by the student , who is then expected to develop a presentation for a national meeting and eventually serve as author on a biomedical research journal paper . This component also provides the student with the opportunity to meet and network with other undergraduate students from around the world .
This work is supported by a grant from the NIH / NCI R25 Youth Enjoy Science Research Grant ( R25CA244092 ).
— MICHELLE S . JOHNSON , MBA
16 | O ’ NEAL COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTER