SEMINARS
View all program meetings and events at the Cancer Institute
The Distinguished Lecture Series
This series invites prominent scientists from around the country to visit Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and to meet with faculty, postdoctoral fellows and scholars. The series has featured Nobel Laureates, members of the National Academy of Sciences and other preeminent researchers.
Cancer Center Grand Rounds
The weekly Grand Rounds series invites clinical/translational investigators from our affiliated institutions as well as national speakers to present their work at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey with the goal of enhancing collaborations. In addition, monthly protocol brainstorming sessions are designed to provide Cancer Institute investigators in each tumor study group/translational research program, the opportunity to discuss emerging ideas for protocols and get feedback about them from other investigators at an early formative stage, typically before they are formally written up and submitted to the Rutgers Cancer Institute Scientific Review Board. Both basic scientists and clinical investigators at Rutgers Cancer Institute and faculty at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School attend these sessions. This is a CME accredited series.
Department of Radiation Oncology Grand Rounds
The monthly Grand Rounds lecture series invites renowned clinicians and scientists from around the nation to present their work at Rutgers Cancer Institute. The series features speakers from some of the country’s leading cancer facilities. This is a CME accredited series.
The Predoc/Postdoc Seminar Series
This series meets weekly. Faculty throughout Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey present an overview of their work followed by "work-in-progress" presentations by predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees (All trainees at Rutgers Cancer Institute are required to present their work annually). Outside speakers are also invited to present during this series.
COURSES
Research Fellowships in Translational Cancer Research
Post-doctoral fellowship opportunities are available in translational cancer research at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. The fellowships are funded by the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health (1 T32 CA099946). The primary objective of this postdoctoral training program in translational cancer research is to provide candidates with the highest quality training and research experience so that they will be competitive in developing research careers in academia, government, and the private sector. The program integrates the highest quality of basic science laboratory studies with a fundamental understanding of the unique requirements of clinical translation of the discoveries. Courses include:
Clinical Research Design
This course is designed to outline the concepts of clinical trials and the acquisition of clinically relevant data. It is required of all trainees and taken in the first year of training. The information provided is crucial for the student matriculating in the translational research program, The following topics are discussed: 1. Overview of clinical research process; 2. Study design; 3: Statistical considerations and design of clinical trials; 4: Establishing efficacy and endpoints; 5: Quality of life assessment; and 6: Regulatory considerations in design and implementation of clinical trials.
Basic Science Tutorial for Translational Research
In order to assure that all trainees have a common basal level of basic science knowledge related to cancer, all trainees participate in a "tutorial" program in basic science fundamentals for cancer research in the fall of their first year in the program. This tutorial consists of nine informal "blackboard" sessions of one to one and a half hours in length, during which program faculty will discuss with the new trainees the basic science principles essential for translational cancer research. This tutorial will include three sessions on the fundamentals of cancer molecular biology, three sessions on fundamental immunology and three sessions on the fundamentals of pharmacology.
Translational Research in Cancer
This seminar meets twice monthly and includes a short didactic section given by a relevant member of the training faculty followed by discussion of papers and "work in progress" by the trainees. Each trainee and their mentor present an overview and discussion of results once per year. The remaining sessions follow the form of a disease based course focusing on basic, clinical and translational issues in particular malignancies, providing an overview of disease characteristics. Subjects and papers are chosen to give a comprehensive understanding of the etiology, biology and therapy of the various malignancies. an additional advantage of this approach is that ongoing research and literature papers are discussed providing examples of studies encompassing both laboratory and clinical aspects of translation. This exposes them to "cutting edge" translational approaches to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.