Funding News: AHW Awards $1 Million to Develop Innovative Cancer Disparities Research Curriculum

October 8, 2020, Posted by AHW Endowment
 

The Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment (AHW) has announced the award of more than $1 million to an innovative project that will advance a more equitable relationship between communities most impacted by cancer disparities and the researchers studying the disease.

The newly funded “Cancer Disparities Curriculum for Research and Community Scholars” project will begin in October 2020 as part of a multi-faceted approach to addressing cancer disparities in Wisconsin. The project, an innovative community-academic partnership, will create a new curriculum aimed at bringing together members of the Milwaukee community and MCW early-stage biomedical researchers to co-learn, break down barriers, and align biomedical research goals with community needs.

“The important role biomedical researchers play in reducing cancer disparities can’t be overlooked,” said Dr. Jesse M. Ehrenfeld, director of the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment and senior associate dean at the Medical College of Wisconsin. “But their work needs to be grounded in an understanding and acknowledgment of the history of medical mistrust that exists. Through this investment, we are taking a step to break down barriers and build a deeper understanding between those communities disparately impacted by cancer and the researchers studying the disease.”

Participants in the new nine-month curriculum will consist of individuals sponsored by community-based organizations in the Milwaukee Metropolitan area and early-career investigators studying cancer research at MCW, including graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, MD/PhD students, and clinical fellows.

AHW, a statewide health philanthropy, was established by the Medical College of Wisconsin to serve as a resource to those working to advance health research, develop the health care and public health workforce, and support community health initiatives across the state.

The investment in the Cancer Disparities Curriculum for Research and Community Scholars furthers AHW’s commitment to eliminating breast and lung cancer disparities in Wisconsin and adds to more than $41 million AHW has invested in projects focused on dismantling cancer statewide since 2004.

Learn more about the Cancer Disparities Curriculum for Research and Community Scholars.