VCU Massey Cancer Center Awarded $2.7 Million NIH Grant

VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center has received a $2.7 million Worta McCaskill-Stevens K12 award from the National Institutes of Health to train a new generation of clinical investigators in cancer prevention and control. The five-year grant is designed to strengthen the pipeline of researchers who can turn discoveries from laboratory and population science into practical interventions for patients, survivors and communities across Virginia.

The program will focus on early-stage clinical investigators working at the intersection of cancer biology, medicine, behavioral science, public health and community engagement. Its central aim is to improve participation in cancer prevention, screening, treatment-support and survivorship research among people who are most at risk for cancer or who have already experienced the disease. By emphasizing community-focused clinical studies, the program seeks to address disparities in access, participation and outcomes across the state.

Clinical scientists occupy a critical position between the laboratory and the clinic. They evaluate whether biological discoveries, diagnostic tools, behavioral interventions or new treatment strategies can be safely and effectively applied to real-world populations. Yet many clinicians receive limited formal training in the design, execution and analysis of clinical trials. Massey’s K12 program is intended to close that gap by providing structured education in clinical research methods, trial development, implementation science, population health and cancer prevention.

Oxana Palesh, Ph.D., M.P.H., co-leader of Massey’s Cancer Prevention and Control research program, is a co-principal investigator on the award. She is joined by Jessica LaRose, Ph.D., F.S.B.M., a Cancer Prevention and Control program member and professor and chair of the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences in the VCU School of Public Health, and Patrick Nana-Sinkam, M.D., the Linda Grandis Blatt Endowed Chair in Cancer Research and VCU Health associate vice president for clinical and translational research.

Over the grant period, Massey plans to select six K12 Scholars. Each scholar will receive protected time, mentorship and resources to develop an independent program of cancer prevention and control research. Their work may include pilot studies, investigator-initiated intervention trials, ancillary studies linked to existing prevention or screening trials, or research examining how to expand participation in cancer clinical research among underserved communities.

A distinctive feature of the program is its mentoring-triad model. Each scholar will be supported by a cancer prevention and control investigator, an experienced clinical trialist and a community champion. The arrangement is intended to combine scientific expertise with practical knowledge of trial operations and the lived experience of people affected by cancer. Community involvement can help investigators identify barriers that may not be visible in conventional research settings, including transportation challenges, mistrust, competing financial demands, language differences and limited access to specialty care.

The scholars will complete courses and career-development activities while preparing research manuscripts, submitting grant applications and designing studies capable of producing measurable health benefits. Their training will extend across disciplines, bringing together oncologists, nurses, psychologists, behavioral scientists, public health researchers and other clinical professionals. This interdisciplinary structure reflects the increasingly complex nature of cancer prevention, in which outcomes depend not only on medical treatment but also on health behaviors, social conditions, communication, health systems and the availability of care.

The program will also emphasize implementation science, a field that studies how evidence-based interventions can be adopted and sustained in routine clinical and community settings. A cancer screening strategy, for example, may demonstrate strong efficacy in a controlled study but have limited impact if clinics lack staff, patients face high travel costs or providers are unable to integrate the intervention into normal workflows. Training investigators to study these practical factors can accelerate the movement of effective approaches from research settings into hospitals, primary-care practices and community organizations.

Massey’s leaders expect the award to create a lasting institutional impact beyond the initial training period. Scholars will receive two additional years of salary support from the cancer center after completing their two-year, grant-funded appointments. The longer support period is intended to help them secure independent funding, continue developing clinical trials and establish careers focused on community-based cancer research. Massey is one of only two National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers to receive this type of award, highlighting its established strengths in cancer prevention, control, community outreach and engagement. Over the next five years, the program’s broader goal is to produce clinical scientists capable of leading research that is scientifically rigorous, responsive to community needs and ultimately focused on improving cancer outcomes for Virginians.