November 9, 2005

Sacramento State, UC Davis Cancer Center
team up for cancer prevention

Leaders from Sacramento State and the UC Davis Cancer Center have signed an agreement to create a “Partnership to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities Through Education, Research and Training” that pairs the UC Davis Cancer Center’s Outreach Research and Education Program with departments in Sacramento State’s College of Health and Human Services.

The agreement calls for the two entities to collaborate on initiatives to strengthen cancer education and outreach and increase cancer awareness in diverse populations.

The goal is a long-term partnership that leads to research in cancer prevention and control, and builds on the two entities’ expertise in health literacy, informed decision-making, problem-solving, symptom management, and cultural, educational and informational interventions.

“This memorandum of understanding represents a significant opportunity for collaboration between UC Davis Cancer Center and Sacramento State,” said Ric Brown, Sacramento State provost and vice president for academic affairs. “The faculty and students of both institutions will benefit from this partnership as will the residents of the Sacramento Region with respect to health care.”

Ralph deVere White, assistant dean for cancer programs at UC Davis and director of the UC Davis Cancer Center, said the groundbreaking partnership will help make the Sacramento region the first in the country to eliminate disparities in cancer among underserved populations. "By joining with our colleagues at Sacramento State, we take a great step forward," deVere White said. "The Sacramento State faculty bring a whole set of complementary areas of expertise to this fight. We look forward to working with them and other organizations within the greater Sacramento area to mount a broad regional attack on the disproportionate cancer burdens facing underserved populations."

Among the projects under consideration are joint grant applications for research, training and programs, graduate student research opportunities, scholarships for minority students, and training opportunities with federal agencies. The partnership may also develop activities to bring faculty, staff and students from each institution together to increase awareness each other’s programs and explore new outreach techniques.

Three potential projects in development for the first year of the partnership:

• Co-development and submission of a National Institutes of Health grant to develop and test ways to improve symptom management and quality of life in elderly patients diagnosed with cancer.
• Co-sponsorship of a series of events centered on ovarian cancer, including an art exhibit, presentations and workshops on cancer awareness and prevention, and a two-day medical conference.
• Creation of community networks focused on the Hispanic/Latino, African American and American Indian populations. The networks will train community health educators and develop a model for cancer awareness and prevention programs.

Media assistance is available by contacting Laurie Hall in the Sacramento State public affairs office at (916) 278-6156 or Claudia Morain at the UC Davis Cancer Center at (916) 734-9023.

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