I am honored and humbled to be chair of the AACR-MICR Council. Since early in my doctoral training, I have been involved in AACR and participated in MICR programs that allowed me to see firsthand the importance of promoting and advancing minority scholars by providing resources, networking opportunities and a forum for scientific development.
I am committed to continuing to promote the mission and programs outlined by the MICR Council and will help to implement and develop new programs to increase participation and visibility of minority scientists at all career levels. I am especially excited about the new MICR initiatives that provide more outreach to those based at Minority-Serving Institutions.
Moreover, I want to use this opportunity to specifically address cancer disparities with scientific programs to address the molecular, genetic and sociocultural factors as they relate to cancer disparities among minority populations. As chair of the MICR-Council, I will work with the AACR leadership to promote relevant scientific and legislative policies at regional and national forums.
If you are a MICR member who shares my interests and wants to start getting involved, I suggest learning more about one of the following topics on the MICR webpages:
I look forward to meeting many MICR members at the upcoming Fifth AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved and of course at the AACR Annual Meeting 2013. Please also feel free to forward questions or comments to me in care of micr@aacr.org at any time. Thank you for this opportunity.
Sincerely,
Marcia Cruz-Correa, M.D., Ph.D.
MICR Council Chair 2012-2013