Project Funding Details

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal is designed to provide training and experience for Dr. Angela M. Jo to transition into an independent investigator. Dr. Jo is a Family Physician and a Preventive Medicine specialist with committed career interests in cancer control research among indigent minority communities. A junior investigator with strong academic track record, she is becoming increasingly recognized as a promising, trustworthy leader by the Korean American and the Korean American church communities. This proposal outlines a plan to provide Dr. Jo with the methodological and theoretical research skills through mentored research; coursework and workshops; participation at scientific meetings; and other work such as peer review, mentored grant/manuscript writing, and relevant community work. Dr. Jo's proposed research and career development will be based at the UCLA Department of Family and Community Medicine and the UCLA Division of Cancer Prevention and Control Research, with committed mentorship from both places. The research component of this proposal focuses on Korean Americans, who have a complex set of barriers to accessing health care, and are known to be under represented in cancer research. For this population, churches may be a promising venue through which they can be reached because a high proportion of them attend churches on a regular basis (67% to 80%), churches provide a familiar and supportive environment, and churches and church leaders are highly respected in this community. However, because churches are primarily religious structures, we need to better understand how to conduct research in this setting. The purpose of this study is to help address the urgent need for cancer control interventions among Korean Americans by developing a research program for and with Korean Americans at churches. In order to do this, in aim 1, we will establish and maintain a registry of churches that are interested in participating in cancer related research to support an on-going and evolving church-based research program for Korean Americans. In aim 2, we will obtain an understanding of Korean American churches and its attendees and leaders in terms of the needs, preferences, and their roles in cancer control. Finally in aim 3, using the information gathered from aim 2, we will develop and pilot test a culturally appropriate and theoretically grounded cancer control intervention for this population in preparation for an R01 application that will be submitted at the end of the award period. Funding of this application will allow Dr. Jo to establish her career as an independent cancer prevention scientist. This will increase and diversify the pool of researchers that are engaged in community based research. This award will provide a foundation for Dr. Jo to develop a participatory research program addressing cancer disparities in the underserved with an initial focus on Korean Americans.