• Upcoming Minority Institution/Cancer Center Partnership (MI/CCP) Workshop

  Coming Soon! MI/CCP grantees will convene in Bethesda for a one-day workshop. It will offer attendees an interactive forum for presenting, discussing, and networking with MI/CCP investigators and program staff.

• Outstanding Participation at the CURE Grantees Professional Development Conference

  More than 80 CRCHD supported CURE grantees met to share accomplishments, network, and learn professional development strategies that will drive career success.

• Community Networks Program’s Meeting Held

  This year’s CNP PI meeting was host to more than 150 CNP grantees and NCI program staff. Held July 20-21, the meeting offered grantees the opportunity to present recent findings, exchange resources and tools, network, and plan for the future.

• Program Director Dr. Das receives International Patent Approval

  Congratulations to DRB program director Dr. Rina Das on her recent Canadian patent to support diagnosis of stage or aggressiveness of breast and prostate cancer.

• Dr. Howard Koh is Confirmed as HHS Assistant Secretary of Health

  Dr. Koh, former CRCHD’s Community Networks Program (CNP) PI, was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate June 19 to serve as the next Assistant Secretary for Health at HHS.

In the Field

Dr. Marjorie Kagawa Singer lectures about the role of culture in qualitative research to students in the Minority Training Program in Cancer Control Research

As a third-generation Japanese-American Dr. Margie Kagawa-Singer, PhD, MA, MN, RN had no idea that her upbringing in an isolated community in Berkeley, California would lead her to study how illness is traditionally perceived and cured around the world. Living in the 60’s in an isolated neighborhood—one that only Asians and Blacks could buy property—Dr. Kagawa-Singer learned firsthand what health disparities meant. Read more

At the this year’s Professional Development Workshop, a number of awards were given out for stellar Podium and Poster presentations.

Dr. Tung Nguyen, CNP Grantee, was promoted to Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco for his outstanding efforts as a clinician educator.

News You Can Use

Research & Training Opportunities

• Many of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) awards will be made in September of 2009. ARRA Award Information, including about ARRA funded projects, can be found at http://grants.nih.gov/recovery/

  • Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholars
    Deadline for receipt: October 2, 2009
  • Avon Foundation Breast Care Fund (AFBCF)
    Deadline for submission: August 28, 2009
  • Susan G. Komen for the Cure Community-based Grants
    Deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis
  • The Biology of Estrogen Receptor-Negative Breast Cancer in Various Racial and Ethnic Groups (U01)
    Deadline: January 5, 2010
  • Diet, Epigenetic Events, and Cancer Prevention (R01) and (R21)
    Deadline: Standard dates apply
  • Early Detection Research Network: Clinical Validation Centers (U01)
    Deadline: October 29, 2009
  • The Early Detection Research Network: Biomarker Reference Laboratories (U24)
    Deadline: October 29, 2009
  • Feasibility Studies for Collaborative Interaction for Minority Institution/Cancer Center Partnership (P20 MI/CCP)
    Deadline: April 19, 2010
  • Exploratory Grant Award to Promote Workforce Diversity in Basic Cancer Research (R21)
    Deadline: November 23, 2009
  • Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards for Individual Predoctoral Fellowships to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (F31)
    Deadline: Standard dates apply

• Find two new disparities related training opportunities.

  • IOTF Fellowship
    Deadline: September 1, 2009
  • Keystone Fellows Program
    Deadline: September 1, 2009
  • NIH Loan Repayment
    Deadline: Annually from September 1 through December 1, at 8:00 PM EST

• Find upcoming meetings on our Meetings and Events page on our website. These include:

  • SACNAS National Conference
  • Faces of a Healthy Future: National Conference to End Health Disparities II

Scientific Advancements

• Racial Disparities in Breast Cancer Death are not Driven by Estrogen Receptor Status Alone
  The differences in survival between black and white women was largely driven by the probability of dying in the first three years after diagnosis than they were by estrogen status.
  
  See press release
• Racial Disparities Exist in Cancer Survival Among Randomized Clinical Trials Patients of the Southwest Oncology Group
  Despite having the same treatment and follow up in the trial, Blacks with sex-specific cancers (breast, prostate, ovarian) had worse survival than white patients
  
  Washington Post: Blacks With Equal Care Still More Likely to Die of Some Cancers
• How Perceived Discrimination in the Black-White Health Disparities Affect Black Patients’ Response to the Health Care They Receive
  Health providers must develop interventions that recognize the different influences of racism on Black patients to minimize the effects of perceived discrimination.
• The Racial Survival Disparity in Head and Neck Cancer May Result from Low Prevalence of Human Papillomavirus Infection in Black Head and Neck Cancer Patients
  New treatment options need to be developed for patients with HPV-negative tumors to give Blacks a better overall survival rate.
  
  See Press Release
  NY Times: Findings May Explain Gap in Cancer Survival
  AACR: Oral Sex Cause of Throat Cancer Rise (WebMD)
• Racial Disparities in Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors (GIST) May Be Eradicated with New Treatment Option
  The introduction of imatinib mesylate, a new class of chemotherapy drugs, has helped Blacks with improved long term survival from GIST.
• Aging Population and an Increased Proportion of Minorities See Rise in U.S. Cancer Cases
  Hispanics will experience the greatest impact of increased cancer cases as the demographic and aging population changes over the next 20 years.

Community Tools

• Take advantage of this monthly online health advice column, exclusively for Spanish-speaking consumers.
• Review a set of START (Standard Terms of Agreement for Research Trial) Clauses developed to serve participants in crafting contract agreements for clinical trials.
• Explore a new package of resources, which includes state fact sheets and interactive data tables, available to spotlight disparities in women’s health care.
• Read through this newsletter from the San Antonio Tobacco Prevention & Control Coalition (TPCC) about creating smoke-free city environments.