The initiative can proudly account for having supported over 6,000 researchers and cancer control professionals worldwide.

The event brought together a panel of experts and fellows. Dr Joe Harford, from Global Health NCI, Dr David Ringer, National Vice President of Extramural Research at ACS, and Prof. Tetsuo Noda, President of the Japanese Cancer Association gave overviews on the various fellowships. Three fellows, Dr Rajesh Dikshit, Associate Professor, Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai, India, winner of ACSBI, ICRETT, and ICRETT Workshop Awards; Prof. Olalekan A Ayo-Yusuf, Associate Professor, Head of Clinical Unit, Oral & Dental Hospital, University of Pretoria, South Africa, winner of ACSBI and ICRETT awards; and Dr Partha Basu, gynecologic oncology, Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute, Kolkata, India winner of a Yamagiwa – Yoshida Memorial Grant, shared their stories with the assembly.

The UICC fellowships initiative began in 1962 when UICC started administrating the American Cancer Society – Eleanor Roosevelt – International Cancer Fellowships, and has since then grown significantly into a worldwide recognised programme including the prestigious ACSBI funded by the American Cancer Society, the YY Fellowships supported by the Japan National Committee and Kyowa as well as the very flexible and appreciated ICRETT Technology Transfer Fellowships and Workshops supported by eleven sponsors. Also, it includes the Asia-Pacific Cancer Society Training Grant program (APCASOT) funded by the William Rudder memorial fund and administered by Cancer Council Queensland.

The initiative can proudly account for having supported over 6,000 researchers and cancer control professionals worldwide.

The goals of the fellowship programme include not only developing future leaders in cancer research around the world, but also facilitating a global effort in cancer prevention and control, as well as encouraging collaborative interactions to establish a network of researchers and scientists for rapid dissemination of new knowledge and technology.

Amongst the fellowships awarded, there are two 2004 Nobel Prize for Chemistry winners; Dr Aaron Ciechanover, who received an ACSBI fellowship in 1988 and Dr Avram Hershko, who received both an ACSBI fellowship in 1996 and a UICC Yamagiwa-Yoshida Memorial Cancer Study Grant in 2000. Dr Harald Zur Hausen, the 2008 Nobel Prize for Medicine winner is also a fellowships applications reviewer since 1999.

These fellowships would not be able to maintain their quality if it was not for the international panel of expert reviewers. These volunteers who are internationally-recognised experts in their field of expertise help to assess the relative merits of the many worthy applications for UICC Fellowships. Close to 600 international experts contribute yearly their voluntary time to review applications. Home and host organisations also have an important role to play in supporting cancer control professionals and allowing for high quality transfers of skills and knowledge. These fellowships would not be possible either without the commitment of the sponsors.

To apply to UICC Fellowships, click here. 

For more information on fellowships, contact Tristan Piguet piguet@uicc.org

Image: Dr Partha Basu during his YY fellowship at Graham Brown Cancer Center, University of Louisville, KY, USA, in 2004.

Other Programmes News

Cervical Cancer Initiative

The World Cancer Congress brought key partners together to give members an opportunity to learn more about UICC programmes and how you can support our work.

During the World Cancer Congress, CCI and its key partners (including PAHO, WHO, IPPF, IARC, PATH, the GAVI Alliance and more) took the opportunity to highlight their work on cervical cancer and to cover the latest updates on the topic. Three sessions on cervical cancer were presented: 

Cancer and infection: How vaccines can turn the tide 
IARC, GAVI and PATH gave valuable insights to a packed session on anti-cancer vaccines. IARC provided an overview on the basics of vaccines and HPV; GAVI shared their successes with another cancer preventing vaccine – the Hepatitis B vaccine. PATH presented their pilot HPV vaccination programmes and shared learning points, particularly the importance of screening and treatment to support vaccination as part of a comprehensive cervical cancer prevention programme.

Cervical cancer prevention: The interface of HPV vaccination and screening strategies
WHO chaired this session, giving  a broad overview of vaccines and screening, they also presented their policies and guidelines. The GAVI Alliance shared their vision and strategy on getting HPV vaccines rolled-out in GAVI eligible countries. The session covered the whole spectrum of cervical cancer prevention by discussing primary prevention (vaccine), secondary prevention (screening) and treatment, whilst also discussing ways of doing outreach to women. 

Meet the Experts session on Reducing the cervical cancer burden: advances in the Americas
This session really gave an insight into how specialists from different fields can share and take advantage of each other’s expertise to create the best tailored solutions as experts from PAHO/WHO, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) presented their experiences in different countries in Latin America and their recommendations for the way forward. 

Health Technology Assessment Workshop (HTA)

UICC and the London School of Economics (LSE) held a two-day workshop on ‘Health Technology Assessment’ for 29 patient group representatives from global, regional and national organisations. The workshop, which was very well received, was designed to equip patient groups with the skills and knowledge to bring the patient voice to the decision-making table and push for appropriate investments in the treatment and care of cancer. The sessions were very interactive and demonstrated great engagement between academic, patient and corporate viewpoints. The workshop was sponsored by BAYER.

National Cancer Control Planning (NCCP) Toolkit Launch

The second edition of the National Cancer Control Planning toolkit for civil society organisations (CSOs) was launched at the 2012 World Cancer Leaders' Summit. The toolkit intends to help CSOs and other parties deliver an effective national cancer control plan – one which is comprehensive, costed and designed so that progress can be measured and assessed. Its development constitutes a joint effort between UICC & European Cancer Leagues (ECL), supported by an experienced group of editors who worked diligently to deliver a user friendly document. This NCCP Toolkit was endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Israel Cancer Association (ICA) and the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer as well as by multiple partners and UICC member organisations.

The toolkit can be found at UICC website under the Advocacy tools section here.