American Cancer Society

American Cancer Society and four Historically Black Colleges and Universities Announce Groundbreaking Diversity in Cancer Research Program to Improve Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Unique Program Will Create A More Inclusive Cancer Research Environment, Help Address Health Disparities

ACS

Atlanta-September 22, 2021 - The American Cancer Society (ACS), along with four historically black medical schools including Charles Drew Medical School, Howard University, Meharry Medical College and Morehouse School of Medicine, today announced a groundbreaking Diversity in Cancer Research (DICR) Program to help improved diversity, equity and inclusion in the cancer research field. The inaugural initiatives of the overarching program include DICR Institutional Development Grants. The four HBCU’s have received DICR grants in a pilot program for 2021-2022.

The awards provided through the DICR program are unique in cancer research. They provide a large amount of salary support for the four colleges to select clinical faculty who need more dedicated time for their cancer research and scholarly activities. They also fund other student and postdoctoral program and underpin the awards with career development funds and mentorship by established American Cancer Society Professors. The grants will build sustainability for both clinical and scientific cancer-focused careers, launching or sustaining the careers of 104 individuals by 2025.

The impactful program will create a more inclusive research environment to address health disparities more effectively and could lead to targeted recruitment efforts focused on bringing people of color into clinical research protocols. Establishing a research community that is made up of a diverse group of people is vital to ensuring scientific excellence.

American Cancer Society Awardees

Undergraduate Research Training Awardees


Adia Lowther Spelman College Major: Health Science Mentor: Dr. Shailesh Singh, PhD	Analiese Poe Spelman College Major: Health Science Mentor: Dr. Desiree Rivers, PhD, MSPH	Lauren Forney Spelman College Major: Health Science Mentor: Dr. Santosh Singh, PhD


Janae Gerald Spelman College Major: Health Science Mentor: Dr. James Lillard, PhD, MBA	Saniyah Smith Spelman College Major: Biology Mentor: Dr. Shailesh Singh, PhD	Kandace Bryant Spelman College Major: Health Science Mentor: Dr. James Lillard, PhD, MBA


Nyla Robinson Spelman College Major: Health Science Mentor: Dr. Rajesh Singh, PhD	Gene Hughes III Morehouse College Major: Biology Mentor: Dr. Hina Mir, PhD	Carla Griffin Spelman College Major: Neuroscience Mentor: Dr. Cheryl Cropp, PharmD, PhD


Jonathan Joseph Clark Atlanta University Major: Psychology Mentor: Dr. Desiree Rivers, PhD, MSPH	Anaya Henry Spelman College Major: Health Science Mentor: Dr. James Lillard, PhD, MBA	Jaliya Mims Spelman College Major: Biology Mentor: Dr. Hina Mir, PhD


Nia Scott Spelman College Major: Biology Mentor: Dr. Santosh Singh, PhD	Noelle Lanton Spelman College Major: Health Science Mentor: Dr. James Lillard, PhD, MBA	Enobong Anako Spelman College Major: Health Science Mentor: Dr. Desiree Rivers, PhD, MSPH


Samiatu Yussuf Spelman College Major: Psychology – Neuroscience Mentor: Desiree Rivers, PhD, MSPH	Kelsey Harpe Spelman College Major: Health Science Mentor: Cheryl Cropp, PharmD, PhD	Taylor Harris Spelman College Major: Biology Mentor: Dr. Rajesh Singh, PhD

Pilot Grant Awardees

Cheryl Cropp, PharmD, PhD
Elucidating the Association between hyperlipidemia and prostate cancer in African American men

Ming Bo Huang, MD
Targeting triple negative breast cancer progression: SMR peptides and exosomes interaction with key proteins

Santosh Singh, PhD
Improving breast cancer therapy using novel nano particles

Clinician Scientist Awardees


Regina Leonis, MD Molecular classification of endometrial cancer and clinical outcomes in African American women	Jesus Luevano, MD Early onset colorectal cancer which disproportionately affects minority populations

Master Scholars Awardees


Lauryn Denise Jones Genetic ancestry and racial differences in prostate tumors	Kithana Rao Disparities in melanoma and skin of color

American Cancer Society Subaward Requirements

Subaward Grant Mechanisms	Requirements
Undergraduate Training Program	The ACS DICR Training Center recruits young adults who are part of populations that have been established as underrepresented in the health-related science workforce in the United States.
Pilot Grants	Applicants must be full-time faculty within the first 6-years of initial appointment who have not yet obtained R-level funding.
Clinician Scientist Development Grants	Applicants must be early career clinical scientists (Instructor or Assistant Professor) within the initial 6 years of a faculty appointment with a clinical license and has a role in clinical care.
Post-doctoral Fellows	Researchers who are US citizens or permanent residents and within three years of receiving a doctoral degree.
Masters Scholars	Students must be enrolled in a master program with an interest in Cancer Control and Prevention or cancer research.

Award Amount and Term

Subaward Grant Mechanisms	Requirements
Undergraduate Research Training Program (Summer Program)	$500 per week for 10 weeks = $5000
Pilot Grants (16)	$30,000; 4 grant/years x 4 years = $ 480,000
Clinician Scientist Development Grants (2)	$600,000 x 2 clinicians over 4 years = $1,200,000
Post-Doctoral Fellowships (2)	$175,500 x 2 post-docs over 3 years = $351,000
Masters Scholars (6)	$25,000/year x 2 MS x 2 years; 3 MS cohorts: $300,000

Summary of Research Subawards

Master Scholars

Nolan Stubbs, Medical Student
Morehouse School of Medicine
Research: Glioblastoma (brain cancer) cell lines and different therapeutics to uncover different treatment paradigms

Gabrielle Ford, Master of Public Health, Student
Morehouse School of Medicine
Research: Evaluating the Efficacy of Stress and Anxiety Interventions Associated with the Reduced Risk of Breast and Endometrial Cancer Recurrence in African American Women

Zakira Abdul-Hameed, Master of Public Health, Student
Morehouse School of Medicine
Research: The role of culture in cancer nutritional information for Black women

Undergraduate Training Program

Brittany Jones, Student
Georgia College & State University
Research: Prostate Cancer

Christina Hughes, Student
Georgia College & State University
Research: Prostate Cancer Among African American Men

Justine Savizon, Student
Georgia College & State University
Research: Factors Influencing Health Outcomes in African American Women

Jasmine Harrison, Student
Georgia College & State University
Research: Racial and Geographic Disparities in Past Treatment Complication among Black Breast Cancer Survivors

Pilot Grants

Shaneeta M. Johnson, MD, MBA, FACS
Sasha Corbin, MD
Department of Surgery/Morehouse School of Medicine

Pilot Grant: Disparities In Colon Cancer Amongst African Descendants: A Retrospective Observational Pilot Study comparing African Americans and Afro-Caribbean Persons

Desiree A. Rivers, PhD, MSPH
Robina Josiah Willock, PhD, MPH
Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine/Morehouse School of Medicine

Pilot Grant: Bridges to Cancer Health Equity Navigator Training

Desiree A. Rivers, PhD, MSPH
Associate Professor
Community Health and Preventive Medicine
Research Scholars Grant: Using a plant-based diet and exercise to improve outcome in AA postmenopausal breast and endometrial cancer survivors.

Rajesh Singh, PhD
Associate Professor
Microbiology, Biochemistry & Immunology
Research Scholars Grant: Social and molecular determinants of liver cancer disparities

Clinician Scientist Development Grants

Regina Leonis, MD
Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology/Morehouse School of Medicine

Clinician Scientist Development Grant: Molecular Classification of Endometrial Cancer and Clinical Outcomes in African American women (under review)

Post-Doctoral Fellows

Victoria Churchill, PhD
Post Doctoral Fellow: Health Communication
Georgia State University
Post-Doctoral Candidate: Tobacco Research/Health Communication (In progress)

Cancer Health Equity Institute

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