It’s called the UC Davis Multi-Disciplinary Cancer Research Training Program to Advance Precision Cancer Prevention and Care in Latin America. The program was developed by UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center leaders Luis Carvajal-Carmona and Laura Fejerman and has an annual budget of $250,000. The goal is to train at least four scientists from Latin American countries per year.
Carvajal-Carmona is associate vice chancellor for the UC Davis Office of Academic Diversity and chief diversity officer and associate director for the Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEAL) office at UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center. He is also the founding director of the cancer center’s Center for Advancing Cancer Health Equity. Fejerman is associate director for the cancer center’s Office of Community Outreach and Engagement.
They are working with doctors and researchers in the two Latin America countries to train them in precision medicine and cancer epidemiology.
“Of the seven training grants funded by the NCI Center for Global Health Initiative, this was the only one funded for Latin America,” Fejerman said.
Collaborators in the region include the national cancer institutes of Colombia and Peru, two local universities and the largest private health system in Colombia.
“We are very excited about this program,” Carvajal-Carmona said. “It will contribute to education and training and our own diversity, equity and exclusion initiatives, as well as foster global cancer health collaborations.”
