The traineeship is comprehensive in nature, and as such, combines rigorous academic requirements and research requirements with ample hands-on clinical training experience.

A working relationship between each Cancer Genetics Career Development Program (CGCDP) trainee and his or her primary mentor is established at the start of the training period. Trainees are funded for two years to allow for maturation of cancer prevention and control research projects and preparation of research proposals, advanced course work and thesis requirements for obtaining a Master’s degree. Continued research traineeship beyond the two-year period will be encouraged and is dependent upon successful competition for career development or independent research awards. The Advisory Committee will make recommendations for extension of traineeship and institutional commitment of appropriate space will be secured.

Training is centered on three main categories of integrated interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary experience:

• Academic: formal multidisciplinary course work, seminars and lectures
• Experiential: mentored multi-site clinical training; participation in clinical case review conferences; enrollment and management of patients in the clinical setting
• Mentored cross-disciplinary research project (core requirement): Cancer genetics is a new and evolving discipline wherein the research focus may be clinical (interventions/outcomes, behavioral), basic (genetic epidemiology, molecular biology), or translational.