Cancer Research Training and Education Coordination

Cancer Research Training and Education Coordination The Cancer Research Training and Education Coordination (CRTEC) Core directs all cancer research education, training, and career development activities of the Cancer Center at Illinois (CCIL). CRTEC (1) develops and operates cancer research training and education activities in CCIL themes, (2) coordinates CRTEC activities with all Center and institutional resources, (3) supports career development, and (4) evaluates progress to improve outcomes iteratively. CRTEC introduces pre-college (K-12) students to research, inspires undergraduates to pursue scientific careers, enables transdisciplinary and translational research training for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, and accelerates faculty careers through early career mentoring and a Faculty Leadership Development Program. CRTEC offers comprehensive services across the career arc. For trainees and training programs, it offers financial and staff support for training program operations; helps recruit and select participants; conducts educational activities, including cross-curricular training, laboratory courses, and responsible research conduct workshops; and CCIL events for students. For faculty, it arranges early career mentoring that includes access to members and leaders who can guide the new member, assistance in grant preparation by organizing pre-submission reviews, and select University nominees for external cancer-related limited submission awards. CRTEC also manages seminar organization and coordination with departments, meets with faculty candidates, and works with related institutional programs . CRTEC helps organize exchanges such as the BIG10 speakers, conferences and symposia. It implements all activities based on standard operating procedures and evaluates their impact to ensure the goals are met. The CCIL’s Associate Director for Education leads CRTEC and directs all core activities, ensuring coordination with research programs and alignment with Center priorities. She leads the development of strategic and annual plans, serves to coordinate activities with units across the University, oversees mentoring activities, and directs new program development. An Assistant Director for Education serves as the chief operations officer of all educational activities, coordinates with the CCIL Administrative Core Team, leads curricular development and evaluation, directs staff, and supports student mentoring. An Educational Program Manager coordinates pre-college and community outreach and supports all activities. A CRTEC postdoctoral fellow promotes CRTEC on social media and supports its initiatives. An education subcommittee advises on strategy (e.g., new training grants, collaboration with the College of Medicine) and provides operational assistance for CRTEC activities when needed. CRTEC actions and evaluations are critical for the CCIL to achieve goals in the 2020-25 CCIL Strategic Plan, which also provides new opportunities such as degree programs in Cancer Engineering for CRTEC. Together, these activities develop careers and provide unique opportunities within the CCIL’s scientific topics. Project Number: 1P30CA275774-01A1 | Fiscal Year: 2026 | NIH Institute/Center: National Cancer Institute (NCI) | Principal Investigator: Zeynep Madak Erdogan | Institution: UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN, CHAMPAIGN, IL | Award Amount: $308,953 | Activity Code: P30 | Study Section: Special Emphasis Panel[ZRG1 CTH-Z (43)] View on NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11265951