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Epidemiology and Genetics Research Program
Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences
November 19, 2004 |
EGRP BULLETIN
From the Office of
Edward Trapido, Sc.D., Associate Director
Epidemiology and Genetics Research Program
Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences
National Cancer Institute
This issue of NCI's Epidemiology and Genetics Research Program (EGRP)
Bulletin brings you news about:
EGRP Holds 1st Annual Leadership Conference for Epidemiologists
The Epidemiology and Genetics Research Program (EGRP) held its first annual
leadership workshop with investigators focusing on tobacco, diet/energy
balance, and genetic research in Chicago, September 19-21.
Seasoned principal investigators funded through EGRP were asked to the
by-invitation-only-meeting. "We are especially excited to have funded
leaders in the field of epidemiology, tobacco, and diet/energy balance
sharing their time to identify future research directions. We believe
this will help lay the groundwork for future NCI initiated and supported
research," said Edward Trapido, Sc.D., EGRP Associate Director. More
than 100 grantees, intramural epidemiologists with NCI's Division of Cancer
Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG), and EGRP scientific staff attended.
The goal of The 1st NCI Epidemiology Leadership Workshop was to
identify barriers and gaps in cancer epidemiology and to advance solutions
to study of tobacco, diet/energy balance, and genes. It also brought together
grantees to highlight state-of-the-science findings in these areas, provide
opportunities to explore new collaborations, and to showcase the scientific
accomplishments of the EGRP-supported research portfolio.
Integrate Epidemiology In To Initiatives
"The meeting comes at a time when biomedical research is faced with
many issues and initiatives that cut across scientific disciplines,"
said Robert Croyle, Ph.D., Director of the Division of Cancer Control
and Population Sciences (DCCPS). " Genomics and proteomics research
alone cannot answer epidemiologic questions. We need to know how to integrate
epidemiology in these new initiatives, and we need epidemiologists to
become more involved in planning them."
Keynote speaker Catherine DeAngelis, M.D., M.P.H., Editor-in-Chief of
the Journal of the American Medical Association, talked about the
importance of epidemiologic studies to public health. In another keynote
address, Susan Curry, Ph.D., presented on the relevance to epidemiology
of the report Fulfilling the Potential for Cancer Prevention and Early
Detection, by the Institute of Medicine's National Cancer Policy Board.
She is lead editor of the report and is Director of the Institute for
Health Research and Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago.
Presentations by workshop participants included Laurence Kolonel, M.D.,
Ph.D., Cancer Research Center, University of Hawaii, on diet, genes, and
cancer; Neil Caporaso, M.D., DCEG, on tobacco, genes, and cancer; Stephen
Chanock, M.D., DCEG and the Center for Cancer Research (CCR), on genetics
in epidemiology; Michael Thun, M.D., M.S., American Cancer Society, on
cohort consortia; and Patricia Hartge, Sc.D., DCEG, on case-control consortia.
Also speaking were Graham Colditz, M.D., Dr.P.H., Brigham and Women's
Hospital, Harvard University, on the potential conflict between team science
and tenure requirements, and Jon Kerner, Ph.D., DCCPS Deputy Director,
on knowledge transfer of epidemiology.
Follow-up Working Groups
Research working groups will be formed based on the discussions in the
breakout sessions which focused on diet/energy balance epidemiology research,
haplotypes versus genotypes, design issues and strategies in the study
of rare cancers, and susceptibility to tobacco carcinogenesis. Extramural
and intramural scientists will collaborate in the groups to generate new
scientific ideas and hypotheses.
Other small working groups will assist in developing research initiatives
within and outside NCI. EGRP's Virginia (Ginny) Hartmuller, Ph.D., R.D.,
Sandra Melnick, Dr.P.H., and Deborah Winn, Ph.D., will play lead roles
in the organization and stewardship of these teams.
To further translation of research findings, EGRP will assess whether
the information presented at the workshop has potential for development
of intervention studies. During the workshop, participants were encouraged
to think about scientific issues and questions that will move results
from epidemiology studies into public health practice.
Increased Collaboration
Increased collaborations between EGRP and the extramural research community
is key as evidenced by the workshop, which was planned with the assistance
of Margaret Spitz, M.D., M.P.H., The University of Texas M.D. Anderson
Cancer Center. She and Dr. Colditz spend time working each month at EGRP
under the Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA).
A workshop report will be prepared and posted along with the presentations
on EGRP's Web site. To be informed when this information becomes available,
contact andersoL2@mail.nih.gov.
Posters that were presented at the meeting and highlights of the proceedings
will be a resource for researchers interested in diet, tobacco, and genetics.
New Centralized Administrative Structure Providing Grant Support
DCCPS Director Robert Croyle, Ph.D., recently wrote to grantees about
the National Institutes of Health (NIH) moving toward a new, centralized
administrative structure to support the functions of grants management,
peer review, and scientific program management that occur within extramural
Centers and Divisions. NIH's Division of Extramural Activities Support
(DEAS) is now responsible for all extramural-related support staff functions.
If you have not seen the communication, please see do so; it might explain
differences that you are experiencing in service. Your Program Director
did not change with this restructuring. Access the DCCPS
home page, and see "Message of the Month."
New Staff Appointments
EGRP has four new staff members to introduce:
-
Emily Dowling, M.H.S.,
has
joined the Clinical and Genetic Epidemiology Research Branch (CGERB)
as Associate Coordinator for the Coordination, Communication, and Administration
Unit of the EGRP-funded Breast and Colon Cancer Family Registries (CFRs).
Ms. Dowling received her B.A. from the University of Virginia with a
focus in biology and bioethics, and while at the university, was a workplace
health educator for the Institute for Quality Health.
She received her M.H.S. from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public
Health in the Population and Family Health Sciences Department, and
was a research assistant with Johns Hopkins Women's and Children's
Health Policy Center. She also was a research assistant with the Center
for Adolescent Health and the Law, Chapel Hill, N.C. Ms. Dowling holds
an NCI Cancer Research Training Award (CRTA) appointment.
- Shannon Lemrow, Ph.D.,
 has
joined the Office of the Associate Director as a staff scientist to
work on various initiatives. She will assist with EGRP's role on the
World Trade Center Late Emergent Diseases Working Group, which is advising
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on surveillance
of 11,000 individuals who worked at Ground Zero for related health problems.
Dr. Lemrow also will help facilitate development of the Interagency
Cancer Epidemiology Research Funders (I-CERF), an effort initiated by
EGRP to provide a forum for Federal agencies that fund cancer epidemiology
to share and exchange information and ideas.
She comes to EGRP through the Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS) Emerging Leader Program, which brings into the agency young
professionals with competencies in science and other professions.
She has spent the past year rotating throughout HHS before joining
EGRP full time. Dr. Lemrow received her B.S. in chemistry and biological
sciences from Carnegie Mellon University and her Ph.D. in cancer biology
from Duke University.
- Scott Rogers, M.P.H.,
 has
joined CGERB as a research associate to help facilitate studies focusing
on health disparities and on tobacco use and cancer susceptibility.
Mr. Rogers worked at EGRP this past summer for the field placement for
his M.P.H. from the University of Miami, and had the opportunity to
help with research on the Alpha-Tocopherol Beta-Carotene (ATBC) Study,
a chemoprevention trial that investigated the potential for vitamin
E and beta carotene to protect smokers from lung cancer. He worked with
scientists in EGRP and DCCPS' Tobacco Control Research Branch on investigating
the relationship between genetics and tobacco use and cessation.
Before joining NCI, Mr. Rogers was a senior scientist in the Department
of Preventive Sciences and Neuroscience, University of Minnesota,
where he studied chronic pain in patients with cancer and spinal injuries
and specialized in cellular imaging. After 10 years of research, he
returned to school to pursue a graduate degree in public health and
epidemiology and to continue his work in cancer and chronic disease.
Scott has his B.S. in microbiology from the University of Minnesota
and M.P.H. from the University of Miami.
- Carmina Valle, M.P.H.,
 has
joined the Analytic Epidemiology Research Branch (AERB) as a Program
Analyst. She will assist with EGRP's role in the Breast and Prostate
Cancer Risk and Hormone-Related Gene Variants Cohort Consortium. Ms.
Valle spent the past two years as a Presidential Management Fellow on
rotations with NCI's immediate Office of the Director and Office of
the DCCPS Director, President's Cancer Panel, Center to Reduce Cancer
Health Disparities, and the Office of Cancer Survivorship, and with
the Lance Armstrong Foundation.
Before coming to NCI, Ms. Valle worked as a research assistant in
the Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience of Paul Greengard,
Ph.D., a Nobel Laureate at Rockefeller University. Most recently,
she interned at the Institute of Medicine with the Roundtable on Environmental
Health Sciences, Research and Medicine of the Board on Health Sciences
Policy. She has a B.S. in biology from Yale University and received
her M.P.H. with a concentration in epidemiology and biostatistics
from the MCP Hahnemann University School of Public Health (now Drexel
University).
Seminara To Head New Consortia Research Working Group
Daniela Seminara, Ph.D., M.P.H., has been named Leader of EGRP's newly
formed Consortia Research Working Group. The Working Group will facilitate
the ability of interdisciplinary epidemiological sciences to better address
emerging scientific questions and issues. Bringing together researchers
who are studying the same disease site or the same risk factors to collaborate
and pool exposure data and biospecimens is becoming increasingly important
in order to detect patterns of disease, and to study the influence of
gene-gene and gene-environment interactions on development of cancer.
(Dr. Seminara's photograph appears in "Risk Prediction Models Workshop"
article.)
With Dr. Seminara's leadership, the Working Group will be the coordinating
body for consortia-related activities managed by EGRP Program Directors.
It will foster the design, implementation, and evaluation of large-scale
epidemiologic consortia funded by EGRP.
The Working Group also will work with the Program Directors and scientific
community to identify research gaps that can only be met through consortia,
and develop consortia initiatives that address these needs and take advantage
of related opportunities. Another important function will be to develop
best practice guidelines to speed the creation of consortia and enhance
their effectiveness. Dr. Seminara has been instrumental in developing
consortia among EGRP grantees and brings her expertise to this new role.
She is Program Director for the EGRP-funded Breast and Colon Cancer Family
Registries (CFRs) and for several other consortia focusing on lung, prostate,
colorectal, and pancreatic cancer; Ataxia-Telangiectasia (A-T) and familial
cancer; and radiation and female cancers. Investigators or research groups
interested in establishing consortia may contact Dr. Seminara, CGERB,
at seminard@mail.nih.gov.
Job Openings With EGRP
EGRP has two job opportunities available for Cancer Research Training
Award (CRTA) fellows. The positions are to work on the:
- Knowledge Transfer Team (KTT) - to develop and implement strategies
and products to facilitate research and for dissemination and diffusion
of research results.
- Cohort Studies in Cancer Epidemiology and KTT - to conduct an in-depth
portfolio analysis of population-based epidemiologic cohorts funded
by AERB and related activities, and participate in the KTT.
The salary range depends on the CRTA category and years of experience.
The fellows will work in EGRP's offices in Rockville, Md., a suburb of
Washington, D.C.
Please refer to EGRP's Web site to read
the complete position advertisements and to learn where to send letters
of interest, curriculum vitaes, and names and contact information
for references.
 Epigenetics
- A New Frontier in Cancer Research
By Mukesh Verma, Ph.D., AERB Program Director
Epigenetics is the study of modifications in gene expression that do
not involve changes in DNA nucleotide sequences, and represents a new
frontier in cancer research for epidemiologists to consider. This field
offers great potential for identification of biomarkers that can be used
to assess individual risk for cancer and to detect and diagnose the disease
in its earliest stages.
 Information
in the genome exists in at least two forms, genetic and epigenetic. The
genetic information provides the blueprint for the manufacture of all
the proteins necessary to create a living organism, whereas the epigenetic
information provides additional instructions on how, where, and when the
genetic information will be used. Epigenetics is the study of mechanisms
that involve mitotically heritable changes in DNA other than changes in
nucleotide sequence.
The functional importance of epigenetic changes lies in their ability
to regulate gene expression. Epigenetic changes have an impact on chromatin
structure modulation, transcriptional repression, X-chromosome inactivation,
genomic imprinting, and the suppression of the detrimental effects of
repetitive and parasitic DNA sequences on genome integrity. Three major
steps in epigenetic regulation are promoter methylation, histone acetylation/deacetylation,
and chromatin conformational changes.
During the initiation, development, and progression of cancer, a number
of genes undergo epigenetic changes. Some of these changes can be used
as biomarkers for early detection of cancer and for risk assessment, as
well as to follow a treatment. A panel of biomarkers is preferred to a
single biomarker in clinical assays.
In epidemiologic studies, biochemical and genetic markers have been utilized
to identify high-risk populations that are likely to develop cancer. Inclusion
of epigenetic markers in population studies is advantageous for screening
and for etiologic studies. Some of the well-characterized epigenetic markers
are in the cell cycle, tumor initiation, and apoptotic pathways. These
epigenetic markers have been reported in colon, esophageal, lung, pancreatic,
and prostate cancers. Changes in gene expression due to epigenetic regulation
can be reversed by chemicals, and this approach opens up a novel approach
in cancer prevention and treatment.
Epigenetics-mediated gene regulation is affected by several factors.
In the field of carcinogenesis research, there is growing awareness that
neoplastic transformation must be viewed as an environmental process.
A variety of chemicals, base analogs, radiation, smoke, stress, hormones
(such as estradiol), other agents (such as nickel, arsenic, cadmium),
and reactive oxygen species can alter mammalian cells to a transformed
phenotype epigenetically, without changing their DNA sequence information.
It is of interest that nickel induces both a variety of signaling pathways
as well as genes that seem to be important for the survival of cancer
cells. Nutrients also can affect epigenetic regulation of cancer associated
genes.
Led by EGRP, an NIH-wide interest group has been established to explore
application of epigenetic knowledge in the diagnosis, prevention, and
treatment of cancer and other diseases. Extramural researchers will be
able to access information made available through the interest group on
a newly created Web site.
Selected readings:
Risk Prediction Models Workshop Sets Priorities
 Estimating
absolute risk of cancer can have profound implications for targeted prevention
strategies and clinical decision-making. To improve the capability, more
than 100 experts met for a workshop about cancer risk prediction models
in Washington, D.C., this spring.
"This interdisciplinary workshop broke ground by bringing together
the cancer risk prediction modeling community for the first time and helping
identify the research steps needed to move this field forward," said
Andrew Freedman, Ph.D., workshop cochair with the Applied Research Program
(ARP), DCCPS. The workshop was cosponsored by DCCPS, DCEG, and the NCI
Office of Women's Health.
The workshop included four sessions on risk prediction models: applications,
development and implementation, evaluation and validation, and predicting
germ line mutation carrier status. Poster sessions presented models in
use or under development, including models for melanoma and breast, lung,
colorectal, and prostate cancers, and for genetic susceptibility to colorectal
and breast cancers.
"After intensive discussions between model developers and clinicians,
there was consensus that model performance should be judged in the context
of specific applications and that further methodological research is needed
to develop criteria for model assessment", said Ruth Pfeiffer, Ph.D.,
workshop cochair with DCEG.
Priorities for future research include identifying cancer sites for which
new risk prediction models are useful, finding ways to improve current
and future cancer risk prediction models by incorporating new clinical
and biological markers, and providing data resources and study populations
for modeling and validation.
A workshop report will be published in the Journal of the National
Cancer Institute.
Funding Opportunities Sponsored by EGRP
- Program Announcement Reissued for Small Grants for Cancer Epidemiology
The Program Announcement (PAR-04-159) for Small Grants for Cancer Epidemiology
(R03) recently was reissued, but will not be in effect until the
November 21, 2005, receipt date. Continue
to refer to the existing PAR (PAR-03-010) through the August 25, 2005,
receipt date.
Inquiries about scientific issues concerning the PAR may be directed
to Mukesh Verma, Ph.D., AERB Program Director, E-mail: vermam@mail.nih.gov.
See the NIH Guide, for further information on the current PAR-03-010
and the new PAR-04-159.
- Ongoing Funding Opportunities
- Studies of Energy Balance and Cancer in Humans (R01, R21, competitive
supplements to existing NCI-funded grants) - PA-04-124
- Exfoliated Cells, Bioactive Food Components, and Cancer (R01,
R21, R03) - PA-04-114
- Occupational Safety and Health Research (R01) - PA-04-038
- Cohort Studies in Cancer Epidemiology (R01) - PAR-04-011
- Research on Malignancies in AIDS and Acquired Immune Suppression
(R21, R01) - PA-04-157
- Small
Business Grants (SBIR and STTR Programs) - View topics of interest
to EGRP.
Grantsmanship
- Is Your Institution Registered in the NIH eRA Commons? If Not,
Do So!
 EGRP
urges principal investigators to be sure that their institutions are
registered in NIH's Electronic Resource Administration (eRA) Commons
and that their individual accounts have been created. The "Commons"
is the Web interface where NIH grantees are able to conduct their
extramural research administration business electronically. An institution
must be registered in the Commons before Principal Investigators,
their staffs, and business administrators can take advantage of electronic
submission and retrieval of grant information. Institutions may register
at commons.era.nih.gov/commons.
Program Directors cannot access information within the Commons and,
therefore, cannot assist investigators in accessing information such
as priority scores, summary statements, and Notices of Grant Awards.
This also means that Program Directors cannot update investigators'
contact information in the Commons, including their all-important
E-mail addresses!
The Commons now includes:
- Status section where principal investigators can review the current
status of all their grant applications and detailed information
associated with their grants. (Access to the status of a grant application
is determined by privilege. Confidential information is located
in a restricted area.) Institution officials can see a summary view
of grant applications, review Notices of Grant Awards, and access
Progress Report face pages. Within the Status section, access:
- Just-In-Time area where users will find a feature to submit
Just-In-Time information when requested by NIH. NIH policy allows
the submission of certain elements of a competing application
to be deferred. Through this module, institutions can electronically
submit the information that is requested after the review, but
before award.
- No-Cost Extension area where users will find a feature to
automatically extend grants that are eligible for a one-time
extension of the final budget period of a project period without
additional NIH funds. The system will automatically change the
end date for the grant and notify the appropriate NIH staff.
- eSNAP section that allows an institution to review noncompeting
grant data and submit a progress report online.
- Financial Status Reports section that allows electronic submission
of financial information associated with a grant. Some time in the
future, summary statements will be available only through the Commons.
- Demo Facility where one can try most of the capabilities of the
Commons in a sample environment.
To keep posted on NIH's continuing efforts toward end-to-end electronic
research administration (eRA), subscribe to eRA
for Partners, the online newsletter for grantees.
-
Newly Revised PHS 398 Grant Application Materials Available
A new application form for a HHS Public Health Service Grant (PHS
398, rev. 9/04) is now available and will be accepted for submission/receipt
dates on or after December 1, 2004. All applications received on or
after May 10, 2005 must use the new instructions and forms.
During the transition period, applications using the previous version
(rev. 5/01) of the PHS 398 will be accepted through May 9, 2005. However,
after this date, applications submitted using instructions and forms
other than the PHS 398 (rev 9/04) will be returned to the applicant.
The application form has been extensively rewritten with a focus
on clarity and special emphasis on simplicity and plain language.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to access the
instructions and forms via the Internet because they provide valuable
links to current policy documents and allow easy navigation of the
instructions. This is particularly important with this version due
to the interactive format of the instructions. For further information,
contact GrantsInfo@nih.gov.
SBIR/STTR applicants who are preparing an application for the December
1, 2004, submission date may use the previous PHS 398 version (rev.
05/01) in accordance with instructions in Chapter IV of the PHS 2004-2
Omnibus SBIR/STTR Grant Solicitation. However, applicants who wish
to use the new forms should use the following set of instructions
(MS
Word / PDF)
in accordance with instructions in Chapter IV of the PHS
2004-2 Omnibus SBIR/STTR Grant Solicitation. The PHS 2005-2 Omnibus
Solicitation, with updated instructions, will be released on or around
January 14, 2005.
Read the complete Notice about the new PHS 398 in the NIH Guide,
NOT-OD-006,
to learn specifics on changes to the form. Access the new
PHS 398 instructions and forms.
-
NIH Updates Criteria for Evaluating Research Grant Applications
During consultation with the extramural scientific community that
led to the development of the NIH
Roadmap process, it was frequently mentioned that the criteria
used to evaluate research grant applications were not placing appropriate
emphasis on some important types of biomedical research. The Roadmap
Trans-NIH Clinical Research Workforce Committee proposed a modification
of the NIH Peer Review Criteria for investigator-initiated research
grant applications that would better accommodate interdisciplinary,
translational, and clinical projects, and the NIH Institute and Center
Directors adopted updated review criteria in August 2004.
These new review criteria will be effective for research grant applications
received on or after January 10, 2005, that fall into the following
categories:
- Investigator-initiated research grant applications,
- Investigator-initiated research grant applications submitted in
response to Program Announcements (PA/PAR) whether published before
or after this announcement, and
- Solicited research grant applications submitted in response to
Requests for Applications (RFAs) will continue to use the review
criteria described in them.
The review criteria cover the significance of the proposed research;
approach; innovation; investigators; scientific environment; protection
of human subjects from research risk; inclusion of women, minorities,
and children; and care and use of vertebrate animals in research.
For further information, see the NIH Guide, NOT-OD-05-002.
- OHRP Issues Guidance on Research Involving Coded Private Information,
Biological Specimens
The HHS Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) issued guidance
on research involving coded private information of biological specimens
in August 2004. This guidance is addressed to Institutional Review
Boards (IRBs), investigators, and funding agencies. It will affect
the way that NIH and the applicant institutions process applications
involving coded private information and biological specimens from
human donors. NIH is assessing how best to implement the guidance
while taking into consideration the requirements defined in Title
45
CFR Part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects) for funding agencies.
To minimize confusion for applicants, NIH is requiring grant applications
and contract proposals to adhere to existing procedures described
in the PHS 398 and in applicable RFPs until new instructions are announced.
Reviewers will continue to use existing instructions in evaluating
these applications and proposals. NIH will develop appropriate instructions
related to this guidance with the expectation that implementation
will occur with the January 10, 2005, receipt date. In preparation
for implementation, all appropriate forms and announcements will be
modified and training for reviewers will be provided.
Direct questions about the OHRP guidance to ohrp@osophs.dhhs.gov.
Direct questions about NIH's plans for implementation to the Office
of Extramural Programs, NIH Office of the Director, OEPMailbox@mail.nih.gov.
Read the complete Notice in the NIH Guide, NOT-OD-04-069.
- NIH Centralizes Receipt of Progress Reports
NIH has centralized receipt and initial processing of all non-competing
progress reports effective with those reports due on or after
October 1, 2004. As part of this centralized activity, all progress
reports will be scanned and stored in the eRA Enterprise system. The
scanned images will be available to grantee institutions through the
eRA Commons.
The new centralized mailing address for all NIH Institutes/Centers
is:
Division of Extramural Activities Support, OER
National Institutes of Health
6705 Rockledge Drive, Room 2207, MSC 7987
Bethesda, MD 20892-7987 (for regular or U.S. Postal Service Express
mail)
Bethesda, MD 20817 (for other courier/express mail delivery only)
Telephone: (301) 594-6584
This new business process affects only non-competing progress reports
currently mailed directly to NIH Institutes and Centers. It does not
change the Center for Scientific Review mailing address used for all
new and competing grants or that process. Furthermore, this change
is only for progress reports received by NIH Institutes and Centers.
Progress reports for grants to other HHS agencies that use the PHS2590
or the 416-9 should continue to use the mailing addresses noted for
those agencies.
Read more about the change in NIH Guide, NOT-OD-04-063
and NOT-OD-04-054.
- Video Available on Peer Review at NIH
NIH's Center for Scientific Review has produced a video of a mock
study section meeting that provides an inside look at how grant applications
are reviewed for scientific and technical merit. The video shows how
outside experts assess applications and how review meetings are conducted
to ensure fairness. It also includes information on what applicants
can do to improve the chances that their applications will receive
a positive review. Real reviewers volunteered to review altered and
disguised applications. NIH staff members also participated in the
video. Download the
39-minute video and accompanying sample applications, summary statements,
and PAs. Also, access links to more information about the NIH
grants program and peer review process.
NIH Offers $35,000 in Annual Student Loan Repayment
NIH is accepting applications to its five Loan Repayment Programs (LRP)
until December 15, 2004. The NIH Loan Repayment Programs can repay up
to $35,000 of qualified educational debt for health professionals pursuing
careers in clinical, pediatric, contraception and infertility, or health
disparities research. They also provide coverage for Federal and state
tax liabilities.
Participants must possess a doctoral-level degree, devote 50 percent
or more of their time to research funded by a non-profit organization
or government entity (Federal, state, or local), and have educational
loan debt equal to or exceeding 20 percent of their institutional base
salary. U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or U.S. nationals may apply.
The five NIH Loan Repayment Programs are the Clinical Research LRP, Clinical
Research for Individuals from Disadvantaged Backgrounds LRP, Contraception
and Infertility Research LRP, Health Disparities LRP, and Pediatric Research
LRP. Learn more about the program and
access the online application.
EGRP Hosts Web Site on NCI Training Opportunities in Cancer Epidemiology
EGRP has a Web site with information about extramural and intramural
training opportunities for individuals who are interested in pursuing
careers in cancer epidemiology. The site is a gateway to becoming acquainted
with opportunities available at various stages of career development -
from the young investigator pursuing a doctoral degree to the established
investigator. Also use the site to access related resources, such as the
NCI publication Everything
you wanted to know about the NCI Grants Process…but were afraid to
ask.
EGRP-Supported Research Resources
EGRP invites researchers to take advantage of its research resources:
- Breast/Ovarian and Colon Cancer Family Registries
 The
Breast/Ovarian and Colon Cancer Family Registries (CFRs) are international
registries available to researchers who are planning to conduct population-
and clinic-based interdisciplinary research with a main focus on the
genetic and molecular epidemiology of breast/ovarian and colon cancers.
The CFRs have information and biospecimens contributed by more than
19,000 families among whom there is a history of breast and/or ovarian
cancer or colon cancer. The spectrum of cancer risk is represented.
The principal investigators of the Breast/Ovarian CFRs have published
a comprehensive paper about the infrastructure of the resource and
the data and biospecimens available (John EM, Hopper JL, Beck JC,
et al. Breast Cancer Family Registry. The
Breast Cancer Family Registry: An Infrastructure for Cooperative Multinational,
Interdisciplinary and Translational Studies of the Genetic Epidemiology
of Breast Cancer. Breast Cancer Res 2004;6(4):R375-89.
Epub 2004 May 19). A similar paper by the Colon CFRs is in progress.
Learn more about the CFRs.
Contact: Daniela Seminara, Ph.D., M.P.H., Program Director, Clinical
and Genetic Epidemiology Research Branch (CGERB); E-mail: seminard@mail.nih.gov.
- Cancer Genetics Network
The Cancer Genetics Network (CGN) supports research on the genetic
basis of human cancer susceptibility, the integration of this information
into medical practice, and the psychosocial, legal, and public health
issues associated with human genetics. Its interests include gene
discovery and characterization, gene-environment interaction, and
translational and behavioral research.
The database has information on more than 24,000 individuals (16,000
families) with cancer and/or a family history of cancer. Data available
include demographic information, relevant medical history, and a four-generation
pedigree. More detailed data are available on many enrollees from
studies conducted thus far. The population enrolled makes research
possible on both common and uncommon tumors. For approved studies,
the CGN can offer a variety of services.
Learn more about the CGN.
Contact: Carol Kasten, M.D., Program Director, CGERB; E-mail: kastenca@mail.nih.gov.
- Geographic Information System for Breast Cancer Studies on Long
Island
 The
Geographic Information System for Breast Cancer Studies on Long Island
(LI GIS) is a unique tool to study relationships between the environment
and breast cancer. The system is a rich resource of data and analytic
tools for environmental research. The LI GIS warehouse contains more
than 80 datasets covering topographic data; demographic data; health
outcome data, including relative breast cancer incidence; and environmental
data for Nassau and Suffolk counties and, to a lesser extent, surrounding
counties.
Researchers with approved applications have access to a full suite
of ArcGIS software and extensions for Long Island-related health studies
or for health studies in other geographic areas.
The LI GIS also offers four extensions that researchers may freely
download from its Web site (Researchers section): Disease Rate Calculator,
Areal Interpolator, Cluster Analysis Tool, and Empirical Bayes Tool.
Visit the LI GIS Web site.
The LI GIS is managed by the Surveillance Research Program (SRP),
DCCPS, with assistance from EGRP. Contact: Linda Pickle, Ph.D., SRP;
E-mail: picklel@mail.nih.gov.
Sources of Information:
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