The Career Development Program will allow the Cervical Cancer SPORE to attract and stimulate young investigators to carry out translational research related to cervical cancer. Candidates will submit an application and be evaluated through a careful selection process. Recipients of the award will be reviewed annually and investigators are required to submit an annual progress report subject to the aforementioned review process.
Our mechanism for selection of candidates is based on merit with consideration of diversity of race, gender, and seniority among the applicant pool. The SPORE PI, Dr. TC Wu, co-administers the CEP with Dr. Donald Buchsbaum from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and with a new addition of Dr. Clayton Yates who holds joint appointments at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) as Professor and Director of Health Disparities Translational Research and Global Health Equity, as well as Professor, Department of Biology and Center for Cancer Research at Tuskegee University. The emphasis is on recruitment of junior investigators of great potential or more established investigators in other fields from the talent pool throughout the JHU, UCB, and UAB to focus or re-direct their research career interests to combat cervical cancer.
In order to increase the opportunity for investigators to participate from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, we will also take advantage of the respective NCI funded Minority Institution/Comprehensive Cancer Center Partnerships at our respective institutions. Thus, the CEP will also be available to junior investigators at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) including, Morehouse School of Medicine and Tuskegee University as part of the UAB Partnership and with Howard University, a part of the JHU Partnership. The mechanisms for identifying, selecting, and funding qualified candidates is diagrammed below.
Future CEP awards will be advertised in official JHU and Hospital publications and in memoranda to department and division heads. The CEP grant opportunity will also be advertised in UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center and other UAB periodicals, both paper and electronic media, including center websites. We will follow the same process at Howard University, Morehouse School of Medicine, and Tuskegee University. Informal networking among the faculty throughout the institutions also continues to help with recruitment. The advertisements consist of the following:
- A description of the CEP award (career development of new or established investigators that wish to redirect their efforts to translational research in cervical cancer.)
- A statement that grants are available, with a stated $ value
- A statement that the Career Enhancement Committee will select candidates with approval by the SPORE Steering Committee.
- A list of selection criteria and of the Committee members (see below).
- Applications are due by a set date each August, for starting dates of the following September 1. This distribution of dates will encourage the cooperation of departments with the SPORE to plan ahead to protect the research time of the awardee to maximize the benefit to their translational career.
Inquiries should be made to T.-C. Wu, MD, PhD, Professor, Pathology, Cancer Research Building II Room 309, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 1550 Orleans Street, Baltimore, MD 21231, phone (410) 614-3899, fax (410) 614-3548, or Donald Buchsbaum, PhD, Professor, Radiation Oncology and Director of the Division of Radiation Biology UAB School of Medicine, 1824 6th Avenue South, Wallace Turner Institute, Room 630, Birmingham, AL 35294-3300, phone (205) 934-7077. JHU and UAB are Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employers. Women, individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, veterans, as well as individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.
In addition to the advertisement, a letter including the advertisement will be sent to each of the department chairpersons in JHU, Howard University, Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM), Tuskegee University (TU), UCB, and UAB as part of our recruiting approach to identify candidates. At JHU, inclusion of minorities and women in the CEP will be facilitated by interactions with the Diversity Leadership Council, which collaborates with various departments and offices to encourage policies and changes in management to accommodate a more diverse workforce, and the Task Force on Women’s Academic Careers in Medicine, which seeks to increase leadership development and opportunities for women, and bolster the inclusion of women, especially in areas of medicine and research where they are underrepresented. Candidates will be sought by annual inquiry of department/division chairs from Pathology, Medicine, Oncology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Surgery, Radiation Oncology, Cell Biology, Nutrition, Otolaryngology, and Public Health and from personal contacts of the Career Enhancement Committee and Steering Committee. We will use similar methods to identify qualified candidates from UAB. UAB has a Minority Health & Health Disparities Research Center, which promotes training of minority investigators. We will use the Minority Health & Health Disparities Research Center to help identify minority candidates. Due to the flexible funding of the SPORE, resources and research will be available to expand the program in order to attract additional candidates.
Prospective candidates will submit a Biographical Sketch on NIH PHS form 398, a 1-1.5-page description of their career goals and interests in translational research and past experience, and a Biographical Sketch of their proposed mentor, as well as their scientific proposal. Candidate materials will be reviewed by the Career Enhancement Committee in conjunction with two senior scientists from outside institutions, as additional ad hoc committee members. We will also consult Ms. Lillian Kreppel and Ms. Morgan Newman, our patient/research advocates, regarding the scientific translation and impact on patient care for each application.
Career Enhancement Committee
| Member | Institution | Postion | Major Perspective |
|---|---|---|---|
| T.-C. Wu, M.D., Ph.D. | JHU | SPORE Co-PI, Co-Leader of Projects 4, Co-Director of Core A | HPV vaccines, immunology and pathology |
| Warner Huh, M.D. | UAB | SPORE Co-PI, Clinical Research Director for SPORE, Co-Leader of Project 3, Co-Director of Core A | Clinical trials, gynecologic oncology and pathology |
| Donald Buchsbaum, Ph.D. | UAB | Co-Director of Career Enhancement Program and Career Enhancement Committee Co-Chair | Immunology |
| Clayton Yates, Ph.D. | JHU | Co-Director of Career Enhancement Program and Career Enhancement Committee Co-Chair | Health equity and pathology |
| Richard Roden, Ph.D. | JHU | Co-Leader of Projects 1 and 3 | HPV molecular virology and immunology |
| Ronald Alvarez, M.D. | Vanderbilt University Medical Center | EAB member and outside reviewer (Chair of Ob/Gyn) | Clinical trials, gynecologic oncology and pathology |
| Charles (Trey) Leath III, M.D. | UAB | Co-Leader of Project 4 | Clinical trials, gynecologic oncology |
| Stéphanie Gaillard, M.D., Ph.D. | JHU | Co-Leader of Project 4 | Clinical trials, gynecologic oncology |
| Elizabeth Jaffee, M.D. | JHU | IAB member | Pancreatic cancer, immunotherapy development for solid tumors |
The criteria for selection of individuals for support will be:
A. Potential for independent investigation
B. Feasibility and quality of the proposed area of research
C. Translational importance of the proposed research
D. Experience of the mentor
E. Interactions with other SPORE investigators
F. Time commitment to research
The Committee members rate the applicants in each of the six categories as:
A. Outstanding
B. Excellent
C. Very good
D. Good
E. Acceptable
F. Not responsive to Program guidelines
In addition, Committee members will rank applicants by order of preference for funding. The mean rating and mean rank of each applicant will be calculated and the Committee will then discuss each applicant (the internal advisors will discuss their input with the Committee Chair, and the SPORE Director). The individuals selected must be approved by unanimous vote of the SPORE Steering Committee. Successful applicants and their chairmen are notified in writing.
In order to avoid potential conflict of interest, each candidate will be assessed and scored independently by all the members of the committee. The committee members who serve as mentors for the candidates will be excluded from the selection process for that candidate. Furthermore, since the Career Enhancement Selection Committee is composed of senior members from both institutions, they will be able to provide unbiased judgment on the selection of the candidate from either institution. Careful records of the proceedings are maintained to document the search process with the assumption that the Committee may need to defend the final decision. Notes on telephone contacts with candidates are also made and filed. The gender and race/ethnicity of the applicant pool will be formally discussed in relationship to the candidates who are selected.
We are well aware that the quality of the proposed science is not necessarily the only predictor of the relative benefit to be conveyed by our CEP. We also recognize, however, that modern institutions do not readily invest in even the most selective candidates and that even the most attractive candidates are often lost to private practice and industry. Thus, we maintain the quality of the science as our main criterion. The potential for growth within the program and for interactions within the translational environment are additional major considerations. Dr. Wu will interact with awarded investigators and help guide the translational and clinical efforts of investigators and consult on clinical issues while Dr. Buchsbaum will be available to assist basic research efforts.
Funded Projects: 2020
• Jr-Ming Yang, Ph.D.- JHU, Pathology. Project Title: Signaling network in cervical cancer cell proliferation and motility.
• Nilam Sanjib Banerjee, Ph.D.- UAB, Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics. Project Title: Cervical cancer associated immune cell activity as an indicator of PD1 immunotherapy success using integrated organioid raft cultures (iORCs)
• Shiwen Peng, M.D., Ph.D.- JHU, Pathology. Project Title: Asess therapeutic antitumor effects generated by therapeutic HPV vaccination against a spontaneous HPV16(+) cervicovaginal model
• Stephanie Wethington, M.D., MSc- JHU, Gynecology and Obstetrics. Project Title: Geographic disparites in cervical cancer care: the distribution of the gynecologic oncology workforce and implications for health care policy.