April 19 2022
The West Valley Ovarian Cancer Alliance (WVOCA) recently donated $38,000 to the NRG Oncology Health Equity Mentor Program for Under-Represented Minority Scholars. This generous donation will specifically be allotted to further research by under-represented minority investigators in the area of ovarian cancer, genetic testing, and the extension of genetic testing to family members.
WVOCA is a charitable organization consisting of volunteers, survivors, caretakers, and community leaders who are dedicated to increasing and elevating ovarian cancer awareness and survivorship. The organization raises funds for research and offers resources for patients affected by ovarian cancer.
“The Alliance believes funding ovarian cancer research, with genetic testing, will lead to prevention of cancer within families,” stated Laurel Pracht, the Board Chair of WVOCA, on behalf of their contribution.
The NRG Oncology Health Equity Mentor Program for Under-Represented Minority Scholars was created to combat the ongoing increase in the financial and time burden placed on new, upcoming investigators’ ability to participate in clinical research studies and the limited-time and capacity of seasoned physicians to mentor and engage younger investigators into their respective pathways. Additionally, the Program aims to bridge the disparities gap of underrepresented researchers involved in cooperative group trials. The Program aims to provide training opportunities for early-stage minority investigators within the NRG Oncology membership structure by providing a mentorship experience with emphasis on the recruitment of researchers from underrepresented groups. Mentorship will be provided over a two-year period and will result in participating in the development of a new research protocol within NRG Oncology.
“We are incredibly grateful and honored that WVOCA chose this initiative for their donation. At NRG, we are incredibly passionate about the mission of this program and this donation gets us closer to our goals,” acknowledged Dr. Joan Walker, MD, of the University of Oklahoma Stephenson Cancer Center and a Co-Principal Investigator of the NRG Oncology National Cancer Institute (NCI) Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) grant. “It is imperative that we focus on dismantling disparities for new investigators in their ability to access and participate in clinical trials. The inclusion of these investigators in our trials serves as a driving force in the success of our research.”
NRG Oncology is appreciative of the growing support of the program and looks forward to the contributions this program will make within the oncology research community in the future.
Learn how you can support an NRG Oncology Health Equity New Investigator.
About NRG Oncology
NRG Oncology conducts practice-changing, multi-institutional clinical and translational research to improve the lives of patients with cancer. Founded in 2012, NRG Oncology is a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit corporation that integrates the research of the legacy National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP), Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG), and Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) programs. The research network seeks to carry out clinical trials with emphases on gender-specific malignancies, including gynecologic, breast, and prostate cancers, and on localized or locally advanced cancers of all types. NRG Oncology’s extensive research organization comprises multidisciplinary investigators, including medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, surgeons, physicists, pathologists, and statisticians, and encompasses more than 1,300 research sites located world-wide with predominance in the United States and Canada. NRG Oncology is supported primarily through grants from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and is one of five research groups in the NCI’s National Clinical Trials Network.
www.nrgoncology.org