Abstract C031: Leveraging powerful NIH biosketches to foster trainee careers in cancer: A workshop

Introduction. Students steering away from research career paths within STEM, coupled with small numbers of research trainees from underrepresented groups, make improving trainee retention a critical goal in biomedical science. Brief interventions offer a promising approach to improving trainee skills to cope effectively with career threats. Since interventions for trainees alone may not be effective long-term solutions to improve career retention, providing complementary interventions for trainees and mentors that address research career skills, e.g., securing funding and next-step opportunities, as well as key skills that trainees need for career advancement, are needed. Methods. We developed complementary but separate one-time, 3-hour, online, interactive workshops for trainees and mentors to address common barriers to research careers, give strategies to help trainees move forward, and give practical tools to create two key required documents - the NIH biosketch and Personal Statement for residency/fellowship applications. Trainee workshop modules included: 1) Research career motivations, 2) NIH overview and funding opportunities, 3) Assessing readiness for grant writing, 4) In-depth instruction & activities for creating NIH biosketches, emphasizing the Personal Statement and Contributions to Science. Mentor workshops addressed 1) Research careers for trainees, 2) Addressing trainee fears about funding, 3) Orienting trainees to NIH, 4) Goal setting/planning for trainee grants, 5) Helping trainees prepare NIH biosketches/Personal Statements, and 6) Mentoring action plans. To promote careers in cancer, examples featured facts about the burden of cancer and NCI resources for cancer research and funding. Trainee and mentor toolkits contained a 6-page fillable worksheet addressing trainee research motivations, resources, and strategies. Results. Working with cancer prevention/control training program director site-partners at 6 universities and cancer centers across the US, 99 trainees and 61 faculty mentors participated in 11 trainee and 10 mentor workshops. Trainees were primarily doctoral students (68%; 32% postdoctoral), 73% female, 25% Hispanic, 12% Black, 30% Non-Hispanic White, 17% Asian, and 15% other races. Mentors included 23 Assistant, 19 Associate, and 19 Full Professors, and were 70% female, 20% Hispanic, 10% Black, 54% Non-Hispanic White, 7% Asian, and 3% other races. Evaluations from both mentors and trainees documented high satisfaction and usefulness for the workshops, with the toolkits receiving the highest ratings. Mentors felt they had more strategies (98%) to use with trainees, while trainees (94%) had strategies to deal with their career journey as a scientist after their workshop. Conclusions. Findings suggest that one-time workshops for trainees and mentors that address issues discouraging trainees from persisting in biomedical research training and give specific instruction on crafting two crucial written documents for career advancement are feasible, well-received, and can be useful to re-engage students. Citation Format: Shine Chang, Cheryl B. Anderson, HwaYoung Lee, Madeline O'Grady, Katherine M. Muenks, Kevin Cokley, Melinda S. Yates. Leveraging powerful NIH biosketches to foster trainee careers in cancer: A workshop [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 18th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities; 2025 Sep 18-21; Baltimore, MD. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2025;34(9 Suppl):Abstract nr C031.