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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