A scholarship powered by the long-distance cycling adventures of some of the ACRP Community’s greatest equity champions and their backers has gone the distance on the other side of the globe this year, resulting in a completed prostate cancer project for Esther Samuel in Nigeria, who was among the initial recipients of ACRP Access for Students to Clinical Research Training (ASCRT) program support.
“I am writing to submit a detailed report on my recent project, as well as to express my gratitude for the generous $5,000 tuition scholarship awarded through the” ASCRT program, Samuel recently wrote to ACRP from her work with Covenant University. “The scholarship allowed me to successfully advance my project on the interaction between the microbiome and prostate cancer, focusing on identifying microbial biomarkers for early diagnosis and exploring the mechanisms by which these organisms influence prostate disease pathogenesis. The training I received through the scholarship empowered me to apply advanced clinical research methodologies and sharpen my focus on translational aspects of cancer research.”
Noting that the ASCRT support was instrumental in covering the costs associated with specialized training and access to research tools necessary for her project’s success, Samuel added, “This experience has deepened my understanding of clinical research and improved my ability to conduct rigorous, patient-centered research. I am deeply grateful for this opportunity, and I look forward to sharing my findings more broadly with the research community.”
With a December 2 deadline for applying for 2025 support, the ASCRT program focuses on students from underrepresented groups who are enrolled in a community college, four-year college, or master’s-level program in clinical research. Funded through ACRP’s Ride4DEI, the clinical research industry’s premier cycling challenge, with recipients being selected by members of the ACRP Diversity Advisory Council, the ASCRT initiative addresses the issue of insufficient representation and diversity within the clinical research workforce by providing crucial financial assistance to underrepresented minority students. The program was announced in late 2023 by ACRP and attracted 71 applicants for the 2024 funding opportunity.
Edited by Gary Cramer
