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Principal Investigator: Lifang Hou
Organization: NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY AT CHICAGO
Fiscal Year: 2024
Award: $258,937
Funding agency: National Cancer Institute
PROJECT SUMMARY
The Northwestern University (NU) and Mali’s University of Sciences, Techniques, and Technologies of
Bamako (USTTB)’s Infection-Associated Cancer (NM-IAC) Research Training Program addresses a National
Cancer Institute (NCI) high research priority and a significant and growing source of morbidity and mortality in
sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Mali. In 2018, the four most common infection-associated cancers (IACs;
cervical, liver, gastric and lung cancers) represented more than a quarter (27%) of all registered cancers in
Mali. The NM-IAC Program seeks to build an interdisciplinary, collaborative, research training program to train
researchers in the conduct of population-based cancer epidemiology and molecular studies and advance the
discovery of unique population-specific risk factors and biomarkers for the development of risk stratification and
screening tools of individuals with underlying infections at increased risk of associated cancers, with the
ultimate goal of improving detection, treatment, and outcomes. The NM-IAC Program will leverage our team’s
extensive experience in conducting NIH-funded global health research training programs in Africa, program
refinements, and highly successful training resources and outcomes from our decade-long, research-training
collaboration between USTTB and NU. Our central hypothesis is that building capacity in the key disciplines
involved in IACs will empower Malian and US investigators to develop and implement novel, contextually
appropriate, and culturally adapted risk stratification and screening tools. To achieve our goals, our specific
aims are to (1) Train two (2) PhD-level cancer epidemiologists, each with a focus on one of the four IACs
and capable of (i) designing and conducting population-based cancer epidemiology studies; (ii) developing
protocols for biospecimen collection, processing, and storage; and (iii) evaluating population-specific
biomarkers for use in screening and identifying “at-risk” populations; and Two master’s-level molecular
pathologists, one biostatistician, and one bio-informatician, capable of (i) collecting and managing clinical,
laboratory, and population-level specimens and data; (ii) using virtual modalities for training, education, and
mentoring and telepathology for distance microscopic diagnostics and training; and (iii) performing
comprehensive biostatistical and bioinformatics analyses, generated from population-level studies; (2)
Enhance the knowledge and skills of existing faculty, particularly early career faculty, to contribute to and
participate in interdisciplinary research teams of mechanistic and population-based studies of IACs through
medium-term intensive workshops and mentored research projects led by the scientists trained in Aim 1; and
(3) Optimize engagement of public health scientists, clinicians, and health system stakeholders through
workshops and seminars to disseminate knowledge about the novel epidemiological and biomarker tools and
strategies, for use in new programs focused on the prevention and detection of IACs in Mali.
Terms: <Address><Africa><Africa South of the Sahara><Bio-Informatics><Bioinformatics><Biological Markers><Biometrics><Biometry><Biostatistics><Cancers><Cervical Cancer><Cervix Cancer><Clinical Management><Collaborations><Collection><Data><Detection><Diagnostic><Discipline><Doctor of Philosophy><Education><Educational aspects><Educational workshop><Epidemiologic Research><Epidemiologic Studies><Epidemiological Studies><Epidemiologist><Epidemiology><Epidemiology Research><Faculty><Funding><Gastric Body Cancer><Gastric Cancer><Gastric Cardia Cancer><Gastric Fundus Cancer><Gastric Pylorus Cancer><Goals><Groups at risk><Health system><Hepatic Cancer><Individual><Infection><Interdisciplinary Research><Interdisciplinary Study><Investigators><Knowledge><Laboratories><Mali><Malignant Cervical Neoplasm><Malignant Cervical Tumor><Malignant Gastric Neoplasm><Malignant Gastric Tumor><Malignant Neoplasm of the Cervix><Malignant Neoplasms><Malignant Tumor><Malignant Tumor of the Cervix><Malignant Tumor of the Cervix Uteri><Malignant Tumor of the Lung><Malignant Uterine Cervix Neoplasm><Malignant Uterine Cervix Tumor><Malignant neoplasm of cervix uteri><Malignant neoplasm of liver><Malignant neoplasm of lung><Mentors><Microscopic><Modality><Molecular><Molecular Epidemiology of Cancer><Morbidity><Morbidity - disease rate><Multidisciplinary Collaboration><Multidisciplinary Research><NCI Organization><NIH><National Cancer Institute><National Institutes of Health><Outcome><Pathologist><People at risk><Persons at risk><Ph.D.><PhD><Population><Population Study><Populations at Risk><Prevention><Protocol><Protocols documentation><Public Health><Pulmonary Cancer><Pulmonary malignant Neoplasm><R-Series Research Projects><R01 Mechanism><R01 Program><Research Grants><Research Personnel><Research Priority><Research Project Grants><Research Projects><Research Resources><Research Specimen><Research Training><Researchers><Resources><Risk><Risk Factors><Science><Scientist><Screening procedure><Source><Specimen><Stomach Cancer><Sub-Saharan Africa><Subsaharan Africa><Techniques><Technology><Telepathology><Training><Training Programs><United States National Institutes of Health><Universities><Uterine Cervix Cancer><Workshop><anti-cancer research><bio-markers><biologic marker><biomarker><biomarker development><cancer epidemiology><cancer research><design><designing><early-career faculty><empowerment><epidemiologic><epidemiologic investigation><epidemiological><epidemiology study><experience><gastric malignancy><global health><improved><liver cancer><liver malignancy><lung cancer><malignancy><malignant liver tumor><malignant stomach neoplasm><malignant stomach tumor><mortality><neoplasm/cancer><novel><population based><population-based study><population-level study><programs><risk stratification><screening><screening tools><screenings><skills><specific biomarkers><stomach fundus cancer><stomach pylorus cancer><stratify risk><studies of populations><study of the population><tool><virtual>