Training in Health Equity, Highlighting Environmental Inequities, & Growing neighborHood Teachers and Students (YES in THE HEIGHTS)

ABSTRACT: The mission of this NCI Youth Enjoy Science Training in Health Equity, Highlighting Environmental Inequities, & Growing neighborHood Teachers and Students (YES in THE HEIGHTS) program at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC) is to reduce the cancer burden and cancer health inequities in the HICCC Catchment Area (CA) through training and mentoring of students and teachers to increase the diversity of future cancer researchers. Our program is grounded on the commitment to address multiple levels cancer causes starting from the social determinants of health (SDoH) and community, household, and individual chemical and physical environmental exposures that interact with lifestyle and underlying susceptibility. Our approach emphasizes multiple levels of causation with multiple levels of risk reduction and modification across the life course including the following themes: (1) SDoH as drivers of cancer health inequities; (2) Multiple levels of interventions to address the inequities through research, training and dissemination at the community, school, family and individual level; and (3) Life course approaches to cancer risk reduction that incorporates health ambassador and citizen scientist approaches and engages high school and undergraduate students in community relevant health education and field work. We are excited by the opportunity to expand the HICCC CURE Program through research experiences (Goal 1), curriculum development (Goal 2), and outreach and engagement (Goal 3). We will continue our commitment to mentoring students in minority-serving institutions, including students from nearby City University of New York (CUNY), the largest minority-serving undergraduate university in the U.S. We have also designed the YES in THE HEIGHTS program with novel pedagogical and experiential training in cancer health inequities and basic science for grade 9-12 science teachers within the Math and Science for America (MfA) Program. Across all five years, YES in THE HEIGHTS will mentor, train and engage over 1,125 individuals within the communities we serve. To accomplish these goals, our program will be grounded on 5 key principles: (1) It takes a village to guide under-represented students through to academic success; (2) Active mentorship; (3) Foundational training; (4) Team science research; and (5) Program evaluation. The MPIs Terry and McDonald have successfully run the HICCC CURE program since 2015 and have extensive background in teaching and mentoring recognized as Mentor of the Year at Mailman School of Public Health (MSPH) and CU Presidential Teaching Award, respectively. They are joined by a diverse group of faculty members who have offered to serve as mentors for this R25 program, including 50% women, 21% underrepresented minority and with diverse areas of expertise including exposure sciences, toxicology, environmental and molecular epidemiology, participatory research methods and environmental justice, and biomedical sciences. YES in THE HEIGHTS expands the proven success of HICCC CURE which has trained 50 students since 2015 in research laboratory experiences and over 400 students in online scientific enrichment.