Education and Outreach Core

Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

Education and Outreach - Summary The scientific goal of the MIT/Mayo PS-OC is to define the physical and molecular characteristics of brain tumors that affect therapeutic delivery and efficacy, with the ultimate goal of generating a predictive model that improves therapeutic selection for patients entering the clinic. Using this theme as a platform, we will engage physical scientists, biologists and oncologists at all levels of training to cultivate improved cross-disciplinary fluency. Ultimately, these efforts will have an enduring impact on the field by educating future scientists and oncologists and by fostering lasting trans-disciplinary collaborations between established scientists. We will maximize the education and outreach impact of the center through a multi-tiered strategy to promote experiential training and communication across a range of educational and career levels: High school and undergraduate students: We will tap into and expand existing internship and research opportunity programs at several of our sites to engage both teachers and students in the exciting trans- disciplinary studies being performed in the MIT/Mayo PS-OC. The central goal for these activities is to enthuse participants about potential STEM careers and provide real-world experiences at the interface of physical sciences and oncology. Graduate student and post-doctoral training: We will establish a cross-training program that will provide funding for visiting scientists within the MIT/Mayo PS-OC or within the larger PS-ON. The vision of this program is to enable cross-disciplinary training: physical scientists into biology/clinical settings, and biologists/oncologists into physical science labs. By providing the funding for weeks-to-months of interaction time for multiple visiting scientists per year, this program should provide solid experiential training and immersion in the corresponding field. Annual symposia and visiting faculty series: An annual conference hosted by the MIT/Mayo PS-OC will rotate among the sites involved in our center. A key goal of these conferences is to establish collaborative interdisciplinary opportunities with our PS-OC and within the larger PS-ON. Targeted selection of speakers will maximize the potential for physical science ? oncology collaborations with the host institution and across the PS-ON. A similar strategy will be employed in developing a rotating visiting faculty seminar series. Web-site and public engagement: To broadcast all of these opportunities and to educate the public with regard to the physical science of brain tumors, we will establish a center website. This website will also serve as the hub for accessing data, publications, and computational models generated by our PS-OC. Each of these outreach components is described in more detail below.