National Cancer Institute Awards $2.6 Million
to Health Science Professor
Funding acquired for study to reduce
cancer disparities in minority and poor population
By Valerie Orleans
June 16, 2005
The National Cancer Institute,
part of the National Institutes of Health, recently awarded
$513,621 in first-year funding – as part of a five-year
$2.6 million grant – to Sora Tanjasiri, associate
professor of kinesiology and health science.
“This
is the largest, single grant that the College of Health and
Human Development has received,” said Roberta Rikli,
dean of the college. “I think it’s a testament
to the hard work of Sora Tanjasiri and to the importance
of the work being done by our faculty.
”The NCI grant
funds Tanjasiri’s project, Weaving an Islander Network
for Cancer Control. It is one of 25 awarded as part of a
$95 million, multi-year NCI effort in support of developing
programs to reduce cancer disparities in minority and poor
populations.
“Pacific Islanders are a group that are
terribly underserved,” said the researcher, who joined
Cal State Fullerton in 2003. “There is little research
on this group, despite the fact that they are at high risk
for many cancers. Their rates of screening are low and they
have a high risk of developing certain forms of cancer because
of conditions such as obesity, poor nutrition and lack of
regular cancer screening.
”Part of the reason
that Pacific Islanders may be underserved is because few
members of this ethnic group serve as researchers, Tanjasiri
explained.
“We
find that members of minority groups tend to study other members
of their groups,” she
added. “However, we don’t see many Pacific Islanders
in medical research, so part of our goal is to encourage
this group to pursue medical and research careers. You need
to start with a critical mass – getting young people
interested in this type of research. For that reason, we
are recruiting Pacific Islanders not only from our campus,
but from five other universities as well.
”Tanjasari’s
research effort has three parts: first, to promote community
health through screening and education; second, to conduct
research that will add to the core knowledge of risks faced
by Pacific Islanders; and third, to continue to recruit,
train and support Pacific Islander researchers. California
has the second highest number of Pacific Islanders in the
United States, second only to Hawaii, Tanjasiri noted.
Tanjasiri would like to see more Pacific Islanders involved
in the Minority Training Program in Cancer Control Research
(MTPCCR), a group that encourages Asians and Hispanics
to enter the medical research fields. Three Cal State Fullerton
students have been selected to participate in the organization’s
programs, which include a summer institute, student internships
and assistance in applying for doctoral programs. Currently,
25 students
from across the nation have been accepted into the MTPCCR program,
with CSUF students having one of the highest rates of acceptance,
said Tanjasiri.
The NCI grant is but the latest to be awarded
to the researcher. Also this year, Tanjasiri has received:
$39,790 of a three-year, $150,860 grant from the University
of California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program to investigate
the environmental influences on tobacco use among Asian American
and Pacific Islander; $12,886 from the University of California
for her “Achieving Cancer
Control Together With Chinese and Koreans in Orange County” project;
$14,941 from the Orange County Asian Pacific Islander Community
Alliance for Tanjasiri’s project promoting access to
health for Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander women; and
$64,961 in first-year funds from the National Institutes of
Health to promote cervical cancer screening in Thai women – an
award shared with Gail Love, assistant professor in communications.
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