SPARCC Alumni

The SPARCC curriculum evolved from a previous five-year pathway program funded by the National Cancer Institute (NIH/NCI 1R25CA298917-01), also called SPARCC. This original initiative was designed to prepare undergraduate students to pursue careers in medicine, biomedical research, and expose them to the clinical cancer research profession. From 2019 to 2023, the original initiative received applications from 29 states and the District of Columbia and graduated 71 students. These graduates have advanced into roles as Clinical Research Professionals, pursued graduate and medical education, and entered other STEM-related careers.

Past Scholar Classes:

MKE Night Market (1) June 14

Class of 2023

image-20220708-135936-b6a5f276

Class of 2022

SPARCC 2021 drone shot

Class of 2021

SPARCC Class of 2020

Class of 2020

20190809_095521

Class of 2019

Voices from past cohorts:

“SPARCC opened my eyes to all the opportunities that are just there for us to take, and [SPARCC] has given me awesome peers. I know we will be able to help each other down the road.”

“My experience in SPARCC has been one of the top three life-changing events during my college years.”

“I have done many summer programs, but not a single one helped me with career advising as SPARCC did. I really was made aware of the variety of opportunities in clinical research, from [CRPs] to nurses, MDs, and PhDs.”

For further reading:

Kaljo, K., Ngui, E. M., Treat, R., & Rader, J. S. (2023). Student-centered pipeline to advance research in cancer careers (SPARCC): diversifying the clinical cancer research workforce. Journal of Cancer Education, 38(1), 370-377.

SPARCC
SPARCC 2.0 Logo update