Undergraduate & Post-Baccalaureate Training & Education Opportunities
CRTEC’s training and education initiatives for undergraduate and post-baccalaureate students are designed to engage scientific curiosity in the next generation of scientists, provide opportunities for students to explore cancer-related research as a future career, and fuel the biomedical research pipeline by supporting students in gaining research experience and skills needed to enhance their ability to be accepted to graduate school.
CRTEC strives to fuel the cancer-research pipeline by providing targeted programming to introduce students to cancer research-related careers and give them the opportunity to develop experience and skills at conducting cancer research. Whether it be a summer research experience through CREU (Cancer Research Experience for Undergraduates or a year-round research experience through U-TRAC (Undergraduate Training and Research Achievement in Cancer), undergraduate students in Colorado and across the nation can experience research as they prepare to enter into the cancer research pipeline.
Another CRTEC approach to strengthening the pipeline is to support students who are historically under-represented in the biomedical sciences field on their journey to becoming accepted into graduate school to conduct scientific research through our R25-funded PIKE-PREP (Preparation in Interdisciplinary Knowledge to Excel) and ACS funded ASCENT (Advancement of Scholars in Cancer Education aNd Training) programs.
CREU: Cancer Research Experience for Undergraduates
Every summer 30 college undergraduate students are invited to spend ten weeks conducting mentored research in a cancer research laboratory at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
The goal of the University of Colorado Cancer Center's Cancer Research Experience for Undergraduates (CREU) is to engage scientific curiosity in the next generation of scientists and provide an opportunity for college undergraduates to consider a future career in cancer-related research.
Directors: Mary Reyland, PhD, and John Tentler, PhD
DICR: Diversity in Cancer Research
What is the University of Colorado American Cancer Society - Diversity in Cancer Research (DICR)?
The DICR Internship Program provides training and educational opportunities to encourage the pursuit of biomedical careers. The DICR program aims to improve diversity and inclusion in the cancer workforce by increasing the number of under-represented minorities (URM) trained as cancer researchers.
For 10 weeks, undergraduate-student interns engage in hands-on laboratory research and are mentored by accomplished investigators in cancer research labs at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
In addition to the ACS-sponsored activities, students enrolled in the ACS DICR program will participate in our NCI R25-funded Cancer Research Experience for Undergraduates (CREU) at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. DICR students will be fully integrated into the existing CREU program structure. Complementing the hands-on cancer research experience, this will include twice-weekly lectures on various cancer-related topics, clinical translational workshops, a career roundtable session, and several social networking events: https://medschool.cuanschutz.edu/colorado-cancer-center/education/undergraduate-education-opportunities/creu-program-resources. The list of mentors for both programs largely overlaps but the primary DICR mentors can be seen in the mentor table below.
What are the eligibility criteria for DICR interns?
Internship eligibility is guided by the NIH definition of underrepresented minorities in science based on race and ethnicity.
- Rising college sophomores, juniors, and seniors who are part of a URM population with an interest in any STEM discipline (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) may apply.
- Applicants must be in good academic standing with at least a 2.8 overall GPA.
- Applicants must be full-time students and cannot be enrolled in summer courses concurrent with the internship.
Applications open November 1, 2022.
Directors: Jennifer Richer, PhD, and John Tentler, PhD
DICR Mentors
| Name, Degree, Title | Department, Institution | Research Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Maria Cecilia Caino, PhD Assistant Professor | Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine | Understanding the importance of mitochondria biology in metastatic breast and prostate cancer, with the long-term goal of identifying novel anti-metastatic targets Caino Research Lab |
| Diana Cittelly, PhD Associate Professor | Department of Pathology, School of Medicine | Mechanisms that allow breast cancer cells to metastasize to the brain, with long-term goal of identifying alternative treatment options for patients with this -often terminal- diagnosis Cittelly Research Lab |
| Lynn Heasley, PhD Professor | Craniofacial Biology, School of Dentistry | Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) and protein kinase signaling networks in lung cancer, mesothelioma and head and neck cancer Research Profile |
| Srinivas Ramachandran, PhD Assistant Professor | Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, School of Medicine | Developing cutting edge computational and experimental tools to uncover chromatin structure and dynamics using genomics Ramachandran Research Lab |
| Jamie Studts, PhD Professor | Division of Medical Oncology, School of Medicine | Behavioral scientist with history of research studying implementation of lung cancer screening and psychosocial and behavioral aspects of lung cancer. Research Profile |
| Raul Torres, PhD Professor | Department of Immunology and Microbiology, School of Medicine | B cell development and antibody response, regulation of tumor immunity by lysophospholipids Research Profile |
PIKE-PREP: Post-Baccalaureate Research Education Program
Preparation in Interdisciplinary Knowledge to Excel
The mission of the University of Colorado (CU) Anschutz Medical Campus PIKE-PREP program is to offer a year-long multi-dimensional mentoring and research training experience to prepare underrepresented post-baccalaureate students to enroll and succeed in a top-tier PhD or MD-PhD program and commit to a career in biomedical research.
To achieve this mission, PIKE-PREP program participants will:
- Conduct research with mentor support to strengthen their research and technical skills.
- Improve their competitiveness for PhD program admission through guidance and training on the graduate school application process.
- Participate in high-quality professional and career development activities individually designed to complement each PREP scholar’s needs and goals.
- Engage in continuous and dynamic mentoring and community-building research-centered experiences designed to enhance the scholar’s network and integration in the social, research, and academic environments.
Directors: Eduardo Davila, PhD, and Carlos Catalano, PharmD, PhD
ASCENT: Advancement of Scholars in Cancer Education aNd Training
The mission of the University of Colorado (CU) Anschutz Medical Campus ASCENT program is to offer a two-year multi-dimensional mentoring and research training experience to inspire underrepresented post-baccalaureate students to enroll and succeed in a top-tier PhD or MD-PhD program and commit to a cancer research career.
To achieve this mission, ASCENT program participants will:
- Conduct cancer-focused research with mentor support to strengthen their research and technical skills.
- Improve their competitiveness for cancer-focused doctoral program admission through guidance and training on the graduate school application process.
- Participate in high-quality professional and career development activities individually designed to complement each ASCENT scholar’s needs and goals.
- Engage in continuous and dynamic mentoring and community-building research-centered experiences designed to enhance the scholar’s network and integration in the social, research, and academic environments.
Director: Eduardo Davila, PhD
For more information, go to the ASCENT website or reach out to ASCENT@CUAnschutz.edu.