Program Structure

Disciplinary Core Ideas

The broad concepts and key content of what is being studied, like cell biology, genetics, immunology.  These help to set the frame for clinical targets, like those used in precision oncology.

Practices

These are the behaviors used to build models and test what we would expect.  It also includes scientific inquiry and the practices used to build knowledge.  

For example

• How is cancer risk assessed?  

• What approaches are used to measure effectiveness of a cancer drug? 

• How can we model cancer clusters to understand who might be at risk?

Cross-cutting Concepts

These concepts link across all areas of science, such as patterns, cause and effect, scale, proportion and quantity, structure and function, stability and change, similarity and diversity.  

For example

• How does a cancer cell’s structure influence the way it functions, like hide from the immune system?  

These cross-cutting concepts help us make predictions about disciplinary core ideas, which we can model and test with practices to advance the knowledge base.

Ways to include content:

• Cancer biology - What is cancer biology and  what are the different types of cancer?

• Scientific fields of cancer - What scientific fields study cancer (e.g., molecular biology, genetics, immunology, cell biology, immunology)

• Clinical trials and early detection – What is being targeted?  How is precision prevention, precision oncology, and precision medicine changing cancer care

• Diversity and equity within cancer -- Cancer inequities affect populations and access to care. What disparities exist in cancer?  How can workforce diversity drive innovation?

• Continuum of cancer care - How does cancer care shift across cancer continuum (i.e., cancer prevention, screening, detection, treatment, survivorship)

• Environmental impacts.  Built environment and impact on cancer risk (air, toxins).  

• Epigenetics.  How might stress and environmental exposures impact how DNA work

Looking forward

• New science, like microbiome impacts. Gut bacteria and their emerging role in decision making and metabolism of environmental toxins; emerging role in cancer.

Ways to include process:

• Asking questions and defining problems

• Developing and using models

• Planning and carrying out investigations

• Scientific method and the importance of replication, controls, and questioning evidence.

• Research Ethics, including bodies that safegaurd humans and animals in research (e.g. IRB, IACUC)

• Using mathematics and computational thinking

• Analyzing and interpreting data

• Graph interpretation 

• Constructing explanations and designing solutions

Normalize

• Failure and persistence.  Failure as a scientific process; persistence is key

• Research on process advances training (e.g., simulation, microsurgery practice)

Communication skills

• Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

• Research documentation -- keeping track of what was done (e.g., lab notebooks, field notes)

• Literature searches.  Pubmed, Google Scholar, EBSCO.  Plus key resources/databases like IARC and CDC Places

• Citation management.  Keeping track of scientific literature

• Engaging in argument from evidence

• Science communication - via journal articles & scientific conferences)

• Science education.  Adapting communication approach based on the audience

Methods that can be highlighted

• Qualitative Methods (including interviews, photovoice, observations)

• Quantitative Methods (testing samples, survey design, statistics and significance testing, computational biology, data informatics

Ways to include context:

• What is the environment in which most of this work is done?

• How often are you around people - do you work alone or in teams?

• What professional organizations are highly regarded in your field?  

• What is considered success in your field?

Ways to include Cross-Cutting Concepts

• Similarity and diversity

• Patterns

• Structure and function 

• Stability and change

• Cause and effect

• Scale

• Proportion and quantity