ProMis will not only focus on finding a cure for advanced prostate cancer, it will also train the next generation of prostate cancer researchers. ProMIs will create an innovative, visionary and world-class training environment to develop junior investigators and mid-career researchers, both non-clinical and clinical, within the research program. The ProMis Team Leaders have extensive experience and knowledge of developing interdisciplinary training and mentorship schemes, gained from leading and participating in large, prestigious training networks.
Training scheme
The Training Scheme involves the active participation of each centre via workshops, exchange visits and mentorships, thereby strengthening the research network, fostering collaborations and furthering the long-term sustainability and likelihood of successful outcomes.
The key feature of the Training Scheme will be:
- Annual training workshops designed specifically for early career and mid-career researchers and PhD students
- Secondments between laboratories within Australia and with our international partners
- A mentorship scheme for co-Team Leaders.
Mentorship
Each of the eight teams will have a team leader and a co-Team Leader. Strong emphasis is placed on mentoring co-Team Leaders, who will be fostered to develop more senior and independent (self-funded) research and leadership roles. This will ensure the continued and long-term sustainability of the ProMis research program.
ProMis has created a mentorship scheme whereby each of the co-Team Leaders will be assigned a senior mentor from a separate institution within ProMis. The mentor will meet with the co-Team Leader at annual meetings and workshops and will provide an additional and independent source of support and career advice, for example on Fellowship funding applications.
Annual workshops
The three centres in Australia (GIMR, UOM, and LAT) will each host one training workshop. All members of ProMis will be invited to attend. Where possible ProMis will make these workshops available to Prostate Cancer groups outside the Program, thereby involving and informing the wider Prostate Cancer research community in Australia and raising the profile of Prostate Cancer research.
It is envisaged that each workshop will also be attended by one or two of ProMis' international collaborators, thereby fostering the collaborative links with centres of international excellence and providing the PhD students and junior researchers with opportunities to network informally with international experts.
Each workshop will be interdisciplinary in nature, addressing laboratory-based technologies as well as clinical issues, thereby providing a broad and balanced educational program that will be valuable to the Team’s non-clinical and clinical researchers, and junior and senior investigators, alike. The workshops will provide the highest possible quality of interdisciplinary training. This will not only develop the knowledge and skills of the next generation of researchers, but will also provide the entire team with the skills and competencies required for the broad program of our proposed research.
PhD students
Each of the Team Leaders in Australia will create at least one PhD position associated with ProMis.
PhD students working on ProMis will have the added benefit, beyond their usual postgraduate training, of:
- Attending the 4 workshops described above and the final conference
- Visits to partner laboratories
- Opportunities to network with senior researchers in the field, including international experts, thereby developing opportunities for postdoctoral positions in world-leading laboratories
ProMis PhD students will therefore gain additional training in state-of- the-art technologies and generic skills, standing them in excellent stead as the next generation of Prostate Cancer researchers.
Outreach activities
ProMis will be actively engaging with the public. A number of team leaders on ProMis have significant experience of running public communication, awareness and educational programs. Forums will include Institutional public seminars, newsletters and the website.
ProMis will integrate their training scheme for Early Career Researchers with their public engagement and outreach activities. These activities with lay audiences are an important element of training, particularly in presentation skills, and Early Career Researchers and PhD students in the Program will be actively involved in these events and will take on important leadership roles.