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Middle schoolers in Española color during an exercise at the Empowering Young Minds: Exploring Cancer and STEM Pathways conference, designed for seventh- and eighth-graders.
Middle schoolers work together on a hands-on science project as part of the Empowering Young Minds: Exploring Cancer and STEM Pathways conference.
Jennifer Gillette, PhD, at the Empowering Young Minds: Exploring Cancer and STEM Pathways conference.
Undergraduate CURE and C-Steps students presenting their capstone poster projects at the UPN Cancer Research Symposium, after completing their summer program
Undergraduate CURE and C-Steps students presenting their capstone poster projects at the UPN Cancer Research Symposium, after completing their summer program.
Undergraduate CURE and C-Steps students presenting their capstone poster projects at the UPN Cancer Research Symposium, after completing their summer program.
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Newswise — Sparking an interest and passion in science and healthcare among young people is a key ingredient to growing the next generation of New Mexico’s clinical care providers and cancer researchers.
The University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Cancer Research Training and Education Coordination Core (CRTECC) works to ignite that spark, then helps channel it through an entire scientific career.
“I think a lot of people don’t realize that one of the core missions of the UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center is to educate, train and mentor the next generation of the cancer care workforce, and that’s really CRTECC’s purpose,” said Jennifer Gillette, PhD, professor in the UNM School of Medicine Department of Pathology and associate director of Education, Training and Mentoring at the UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center. 
Gillette breaks down the CRTECC into three objectives, each one including a variety of programs tailored to students of different ages and levels of education — from seventh and eighth grade all the way to junior faculty working in the labs of the Cancer Research Facility.
Gillette said CRTECC’s first aim focuses on the youngest of students: middle- and high schoolers and undergraduate students.
Twice a year, the program hosts an all-day conference statewide, called “Empowering Young Minds,” for middle school students. The conference delivers workshops that focus on hands-on activities to introduce students to various aspects of cancer biology and science more broadly.
“It’s important to expose kids to science early, to help them understand what cancer is and the many careers involved in research and healthcare, and to get them excited and prepared to be successful in high school,” Gillette said.
In addition to the Empowering Young Minds conferences, CRTECC offers high school and undergraduate students multiple 10-week internship and training programs, including the Continuing Umbrella of Research Education (CURE) for Cancer program—in which students aged 16 and older spend 40 hours a week attending seminars, lectures and trainings, while completing a cancer-focused research project.
Similar to CURE, The Cancer Research – Scholarship and Training in Population Sciences (CSTEPS) focuses only on undergraduate students with a cancer research interest in community-based population sciences. Each student is matched with a UNM faculty mentor and presents a capstone research project at the end of the summer.
Another summer program is the American Cancer Society (ACS) summer internship program, in which undergraduate students have an opportunity to work alongside researchers, learn from peers, and present their findings.
Middle schoolers in Española color during an exercise at the Empowering Young Minds: Exploring Cancer and STEM Pathways conference, designed for seventh- and eighth-graders. Photo Credit: Robin Johnston
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Middle schoolers coloring during an exercise at the Empowering Young Minds: Exploring Cancer and STEM Pathways conference, designed for seventh- and eighth-graders. Photo Credit: Robin Johnston
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Jennifer Gillette, PhD, at the Empowering Young Minds: Exploring Cancer and STEM Pathways conference. Photo Credit: Robin Johnston
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Jennifer Gillette, PhD, at the Empowering Young Minds: Exploring Cancer and STEM Pathways conference. Photo Credit: Robin Johnston
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Undergraduate CURE and C-Steps students presenting their capstone poster projects at the UPN Cancer Research Symposium, after completing their summer program. Photo Credit: Jeff Tucker
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Presenter at the Empowering Young Minds: Exploring Cancer and STEM Pathways conference. Photo Credit: Robin Johnston
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Undergraduate CURE and C-Steps students presenting their capstone poster projects at the UPN Cancer Research Symposium, after completing their summer program. Photo Credit: Jeff Tucker
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Presenter at the Empowering Young Minds: Exploring Cancer and STEM Pathways conference. Photo Credit: Robin Johnston
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Undergraduate CURE and C-Steps students presenting their capstone poster projects at the UPN Cancer Research Symposium, after completing their summer program. Photo Credit: Jeff Tucker
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Middle schoolers in Española color during an exercise at the Empowering Young Minds: Exploring Cancer and STEM Pathways conference, designed for seventh- and eighth-graders. Photo Credit: Robin Johnston
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Middle schoolers work together on a hands-on science project as part of the Empowering Young Minds: Exploring Cancer and STEM Pathways conference. Photo Credit: Robin Johnston
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Jennifer Gillette, PhD, at the Empowering Young Minds: Exploring Cancer and STEM Pathways conference. Photo Credit: Robin Johnston
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Undergraduate CURE and C-Steps students presenting their capstone poster projects at the UPN Cancer Research Symposium, after completing their summer program. Photo Credit: Jeff Tucker
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Undergraduate CURE and C-Steps students presenting their capstone poster projects at the UPN Cancer Research Symposium, after completing their summer program. Photo Credit: Jeff Tucker
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Undergraduate CURE and C-Steps students presenting their capstone poster projects at the UPN Cancer Research Symposium, after completing their summer program. Photo Credit: Jeff Tucker
 
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“In our second aim, we move from undergrad to post-baccalaureate, focusing on students just finishing their bachelor’s degree, as well as graduate and medical students and our fellowship programs,” Gillette said. 
In 2023, the UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center launched another program aimed at students who had finished their bachelor’s degree but may be uncertain about what to do next. 
The ACS-funded UNM Cancer-Post-Baccalaureate Research and Education Program, (Cancer-PREP), opens UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center laboratories to these students, giving them experience in doing scientific research, clinical shadowing and learning more about the varied careers in science.
Doctoral students from the UNM Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program who are interested in cancer research training are enrolled in the Cancer Biology Concentration (CBC). The CBC provides an integrative, transdisciplinary view of cancer with trainees participating in courses designed and directed by faculty from each of the three UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center Research Programs. 
The UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center also collaborates with the UNM School of Medicine to mentor medical students with an interest in cancer from the Community of Scholars program and hosts fellowships in Hematology-Oncology, Gynecologic Oncology and Surgical Oncology.
“Our third aim is to focus on bringing in junior faculty and facilitating their success,” Gillette said. “Helping them establish their research programs and supporting them in their transition through promotion and tenure.”
One of the specific ways the UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center helps junior faculty is through another ACS grant program.
The ACS Institutional Research Grant (ACS-IRG) program allows the UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center to offer pilot grants to early-career researchers. These grants help scientists jump-start a new research project that might not otherwise receive funding but could later be funded by agencies like the National Cancer Institute.
Recognizing that professionals at every stage benefit from mentoring, the new Southwest Transformative Educational Advancement and Mentoring (STEAM) network was established in 2024.
The STEAM network leverages partnerships with regional institutions to strengthen the career pipeline for pre/post-doctoral trainees and early-stage faculty engaged in cancer and cancer population health research. 
Utilizing a collaborative team mentoring model, the STEAM network develops courses and curricula that support scholars and prepare mentors to meet scholars’ unique needs. Mentor training opportunities are available to all UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center faculty and trainees.
CRTECC collaborates with other programs at the UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center, Health Sciences Center, and School of Medicine, as well as other universities to provide program participants with as many opportunities as possible.
“One of the best ways to respond to a shortage of health care workers is to ensure that students are aware of the broad career opportunities available to them from an early age,” Gillette said. “For example, research not only leads to novel treatments that provide hope to our patients and their families, but it also serves as an economic engine for the state of New Mexico.”  
Gillette added that exposing clinicians to research helps them become better doctors and nurses.
“We need to be able to help students find the path that excites them and provide them with the critical skills necessary to be successful on that path,” she said.
The UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center serves the entire state of New Mexico, a geographically large and culturally diverse southwestern state. Gillette sees CRTECC as a means to grow and keep health care professionals from New Mexico in the Land of Enchantment.
“There’s a huge tie culturally to family here in New Mexico and a genuine desire to take care of their community,” Gillette said. “This connection gives us an opportunity to provide the infrastructure that engages kids from all across the state, giving them the tools and skills they need to pursue their dreams. So that someday, yes, they can make the next break through discovery, or perhaps go back and be the nurse, doctor, or radiation therapist in Farmington or Hobbs, who will care for the next generation of cancer survivors.”

Credit: Robin Johnston
Caption: Middle schoolers in Española color during an exercise at the Empowering Young Minds: Exploring Cancer and STEM Pathways conference, designed for seventh- and eighth-graders.
Credit: Robin Johnston
Caption: Middle schoolers work together on a hands-on science project as part of the Empowering Young Minds: Exploring Cancer and STEM Pathways conference.
Credit: Robin Johnston
Caption: Jennifer Gillette, PhD, at the Empowering Young Minds: Exploring Cancer and STEM Pathways conference.
Credit: Jeff Tucker
Caption: Undergraduate CURE and C-Steps students presenting their capstone poster projects at the UPN Cancer Research Symposium, after completing their summer program
Credit: Jeff Tucker
Caption: Undergraduate CURE and C-Steps students presenting their capstone poster projects at the UPN Cancer Research Symposium, after completing their summer program.
Credit: Jeff Tucker
Caption: Undergraduate CURE and C-Steps students presenting their capstone poster projects at the UPN Cancer Research Symposium, after completing their summer program.
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