Environmental Public Health Commons^™

Implementing A Nurse-Driven Clostridium Difficile Screening Protocol, Sandrela Magnuson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

ABSTRACT

Background: Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a prevalent infection often contracted in hospitals. CDI is also increasingly originating from community settings. In addition to the health risks associated with CDI, diagnosis of a hospital-acquired CDI can have a significant financial impact on hospital systems. When hospital acquired, hospital systems are no longer reimbursed by payers. Secondary to the increasing prevalence of community-acquired CDI, mechanisms for early detection and isolation are warranted.

Local Problem: J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital has an integrated Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) electronic health record (EHR) screening questionnaire that requires updating to align with current guidelines.

Purpose: …

Reducing Food Scarcity: The Benefits Of Urban Farming, S.A. Claudell, Emilio Mejia

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Urban farming can enhance the lives of communities and help reduce food scarcity. This paper presents a conceptual prototype of an efficient urban farming community that can be scaled for a single apartment building or an entire community across all global geoeconomics regions, including densely populated cities and rural, developing towns and communities. When deployed in coordination with smart crop choices, local farm support, and efficient transportation then the result isn’t just sustainability, but also increasing fresh produce accessibility, optimizing nutritional value, eliminating the use of ‘forever chemicals’, reducing transportation costs, and fostering global environmental benefits.

Imagine Doris, who is …

A Community-Based Participatory Research Approach To Addressing Pediatric Asthma Disparities In Douglas County, Nebraska, Aislinn Rookwood

Theses & Dissertations

Pediatric asthma is the leading chronic disease among children in the United States, and the incidence of pediatric asthma is increasing every year. Nebraska has an asthma prevalence comparable to the United States average; however, the state has significant disparities by county, race, and geographic location, with prevalence rates much higher than the national average. Douglas County is a hot spot for increased pediatric asthma rates, with further differences in rates by race and geographic location within the county. The University of Nebraska Medical Center, in partnership with Healthy Housing Omaha and the Nebraska Asthma Coalition, collaborated to conduct this …

Plants As Vectors For Environmental Prion Transmission, Christina M Carlson, Samuel Thomas, Matthew W Keating, Paulina Soto, Nicole M Gibbs, Haeyoon Chang, Jamie K Wiepz, Annabel G Austin, Jay R Schneider, Rodrigo Morales, Christopher J Johnson, Joel A Pedersen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Prions cause fatal neurodegenerative diseases and exhibit remarkable durability, which engenders a wide array of potential exposure scenarios. In chronic wasting disease of deer, elk, moose, and reindeer and in scrapie of sheep and goats, prions are transmitted via environmental routes and the ability of plants to accumulate and subsequently transmit prions has been hypothesized, but not previously demonstrated. Here, we establish the ability of several crop and other plant species to take up prions via their roots and translocate them to above-ground tissues from various growth media including soils. We demonstrate that plants can accumulate prions in above-ground tissues …

Comment On Marsigliante Et Al Effects On Children's Physical And Mental Well-Being Of A Physical-Activity-Based School Intervention Program: A Randomized Study, Raphiel Murden, Jon Agley, Lilian Golzarri-Arroyo, Armando Peña, Danny Valdez, Abu Bakkar Siddique, Moonseong Heo, David B Allison

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

We conducted a critical review of the article “Effects on Children’s Physical and Mental Well-Being of a Physical-Activity-Based School Intervention Program: A Randomized Study”, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health in 2023 as part of the Special Issue “Psychomotricity and Physical Education in School Health”. We identified multiple mistakes in the statistical analyses applied. First, the authors claim to have found a statistically significant association between the proposed intervention and change in body composition (body mass index (BMI) percentiles, relative fat mass, and BMI classes) by way of exhibiting differences in nominal significance between the …

Review Of Generic Scenario Environmental Release And Occupational Exposure Models Used In Chemical Risk Assessment, William M Barrett, David E Meyer, Raymond L Smith, Sudhakar Takkellapati, Michael A Gonzalez

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is required to determine whether a new chemical substance poses an unreasonable risk to human health or the environment before the chemical is manufactured in or imported into the United States. This manuscript provides a review of the process used to evaluate the risk associated with a chemical based on the scenarios and models used in the evaluation. Specifically, the Generic Scenarios and Emission Scenario Documents developed by the USEPA were reviewed, along with background documentation prepared by USEPA to identify the core elements of the …

Restructuring And Serving Web-Accessible Streamflow Data From The Noaa National Water Model Historic Simulations, J Michael Johnson, David L Blodgett, Keith C Clarke, Jon Pollak

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

In 2016, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration deployed the first iteration of an operational National Water Model (NWM) to forecast the water cycle in the continental United States. With many versions, an hourly, multi-decadal historic simulation is made available to the public. In all released to date, the files containing simulated streamflow contain a snapshot of model conditions across the entire domain for a single timestep which makes accessing time series a technical and resource-intensive challenge. In the most recent release, extracting a complete streamflow time series for a single location requires managing 367,920 files (~16.2 TB). In this …

Bisphenol-A And Phthalate Metabolism In Children With Neurodevelopmental Disorders, T Peter Stein, Margaret D Schluter, Robert A Steer, Xue Ming

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

BACKGROUND: The etiology of autism spectrum (ASD) and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity (ADHD) disorders are multifactorial. Epidemiological studies have shown associations with environmental pollutants, such as plasticizers. This study focused on two of these compounds, the Bisphenol-A (BPA) and Diethylhexyl Phthalate (DEHP). The major pathway for BPA and DEHP excretion is via glucuronidation. Glucuronidation makes insoluble substances more water-soluble allowing for their subsequent elimination in urine.

HYPOTHESIS: Detoxification of these two plasticizers is compromised in children with ASD and ADHD. Consequently, their tissues are more exposed to these two plasticizers.

METHODS: We measured the efficiency of glucuronidation in three groups of children, …

Neurotoxicity And Outcomes From Developmental Lead Exposure: Persistent Or Permanent?, Jay S. Schneider

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Background:

Childhood lead poisoning remains an important public health issue in the United States, as well as elsewhere in the world. Although primary prevention is a major goal and it is critically important to keep children from getting poisoned, it is also important to explore ways to reduce the neurotoxic effects of lead in those children already poisoned. Whether lead-induced neurotoxicity and its related adverse outcomes are viewed as “permanent” or “persistent” may influence the way in which potential remediation efforts are considered for improving outcomes from childhood lead poisoning.

Objectives:

The objective of this commentary was to discuss the …

Lung And Colorectal Cancer Disparities In Appalachian Kentucky: Spatial Analysis On The Influence Of Education And Literacy, Nicole Robertson Mph, Todd Burus, Lauren Hudson, Pamela C. Hull, Lee Park, Nathan L. Vanderford

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Low educational attainment and high cancer incidence and mortality rates have long been a challenge in Appalachian Kentucky. Prior studies have reported disparities in cancer incidence and mortality between Appalachian and non-Appalachian populations, but the influence of education on this disparity has not been extensively studied. Herein, all cancers and two cancer sites with available screenings (colorectal and lung) were joined with education indicators (educational attainment and literacy) and one geographic indicator across all 120 Kentucky counties. This dataset was used to build choropleth maps and perform simple linear and spatial regression to assess statistical significance and to measure the …

Access To Burn Care: A 10 Year Perspective Of Burn Centers In The U.S, Elle Lovick, Jeffrey Carter, Herbert Phelan, Randy Kearns, Bart Phillips, William Hickerson

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

55th Annual Meeting of the American Burn Association, ABA 2023, May 16 - 19, 2023, Dallas, TX

The Rising Use Of Fire As A Weapon, Jason Woods, Jeffrey Carter, Kathe Conlon, Carl Flores, Randy Kearns

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

55th Annual Meeting of the American Burn Association, ABA 2023, May 16 - 19, 2023, Dallas, TX

Characteristics Of Verified And Designated Burn Centers, Jeffrey Carter, Randy Kearns, Elle Lovick, Erica Murata, Bart Phillips

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

55th Annual Meeting of the American Burn Association, ABA 2023, May 16 - 19, 2023, Dallas, TX

Colonizing And Virulence Factors In Enterotoxigenic Escherichia Coli From Peru, Fulton P Rivera, Anicia Medina, Maribel Riveros, Theresa J Ochoa, Maria J Pons, Joaquim Ruiz

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) ranks among the most relevant diarrheagenic pathogens. Efforts to design vaccines to fight ETEC have been focused on colonizing factors (CFs) and atypical virulence factors (AVF). An effective vaccine must account for differences in the regional prevalence of these CFs and AVFs to be truly effective in a given area. In the present study, the presence of 16 CFs and 9 AVFs, as well as the heat-stable (ST) variants (STh or STp), was established by polymerase chain reaction in 205 Peruvian ETEC isolates (120 from diarrhea cases and 85 from healthy controls). Ninety-nine (48.3%) isolates were …

Assessing The Impact Of Ebola Virus Inoculum Size On Likelihood Of Infection, Joseph Lukowski

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

Background: Indirect transmission of Ebola virus disease (EVD) is not uncommon but is poorly understood. Improving the understanding of the potential risk of EVD transmission from fomites should result in new or updated prevention or control measures for suspected or confirmed EVD cases or outbreaks.

Objective: This study aims to compile and understand pertinent data from peer-reviewed literature, establish the dose-response relationship between inoculum doses introduced to mucous membranes, and finally estimate the risk of EVD transmission from fomites.

Methods: A literature search was conducted through PubMed to obtain relevant data. This study employed this data to perform Poisson regression …

Emerging Tick-Borne Diseases In Northeast Tennessee, Jacob Schultz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Tick populations have been immigrating into northeast Tennessee from east Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, and North Carolina. Counties in states bordering northeast Tennessee harbor tick species associated with human illness. Human diseases transmitted by ticks include ehrlichiosis, spotted fever rickettsial group diseases, tularemia, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, Lyme disease, alpha-gal syndrome, Heartland virus, Powassan virus, and southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI). These diseases cause morbidity and mortality in human populations and may pose a high risk to individuals, wildlife, and livestock. The Cherokee National Forest covering the east Tennessee border provides a permissible environment for ticks to immigrate and thrive. Residents of northeast …

Preparation And Synergy Of Supported Ru0 And Pd0 For Rapid Chlorate Reduction At Ph 7, Jinyu Gao, Shaohua Xie, Fudong Liu, Jinyong Liu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Chlorate (ClO3–) is a common water pollutant due to its gigantic scale of production, wide applications in agriculture and industry, and formation as a toxic byproduct in various water treatment processes. This work reports on the facile preparation, mechanistic elucidation, and kinetic evaluation of a bimetallic catalyst for highly active ClO3– reduction into Cl–. Under 1 atm H2 and 20 °C, PdII and RuIII were sequentially adsorbed and reduced on a powdered activated carbon support, affording Ru0–Pd0/C from scratch within only 20 min. The Pd0 particles significantly accelerated the reductive immobilization of RuIII as >55% dispersed Ru0 outside Pd0. At …

Physical Activity, Seasonal Sensitivity And Psychological Well-Being Of People Of Different Age Groups Living In Extreme Environments, Caren Alvarado, Matías Castillo-Aguilar, Valeska Villegas, Claudia Estrada Goic, Katherine Harris, Patricio Barria, Michele M Moraes, Thiago T Mendes, Rosa M E Arantes, Pablo Valdés-Badilla, Cristian Núñez-Espinosa

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Physical activity can prevent many organic and mental pathologies. For people living in extreme southern high-latitude environments, weather conditions can affect these activities, altering their psychological well-being and favoring the prevalence of seasonal sensitivity (SS). This study aims to determine the relationships between the practice of physical activity, seasonal sensitivity and well-being in people living in high southern latitudes. A cross-sectional study was conducted, using the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ), applying a psychological well-being scale, and determining sports practice according to the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) for the 370 male (n = 209; 55%) and female …

Role Of Oxides Of Nitrogen In The Ozone-Cardiorespiratory Visit Association, Xerxes Seposo, Kayo Ueda, Chris Fook Sheng Ng, Lina Madaniyazi, Seiji Sugata, Ayako Yoshino, Akinori Takami

Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health Publications

Ozone (O3)-induced health effects vary in terms of severity, from deterioration of lung function and hospitalization to death. Several studies have reported a linear increase in health risks after O3 exposure. However, current evidence suggests a non-linear U- and J-shaped concentration-response (C-R) function. The potential increasing risks with decreasing O3 concentrations may seem counterintuitive from the traditional standpoint that decreasing exposure should lead to decreasing health risks. Tus, the question of whether the increasing risks with decreasing concentrations are truly O3-induced or might be from other C-R mechanisms. If these potential risks were not accounted for, this may have contributed …

Class 1 And 2 Integrons In Escherichia Coli Strains Isolated From Diarrhea And Bacteremia In Children Less Than 2 Years Of Age From Peru, Maribel Riveros, Maria J Pons, David Durand, Theresa J Ochoa, Joaquim Ruiz

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Class 1 and Class 2 integrons are mobilizable elements able to carry a variety of antibiotic resistance determinants. In the present study, Class 1 and 2 integrons present in 355 pathogenic Escherichia coli (285 diarrheagenic, of these 129 were enteropathogenic, 90 enteroaggregative, 66 enterotoxigenic, and 70 bacteremic) isolated from healthy and ill children under age 5 from periurban areas of Lima, Peru, were characterized. The presence of integrase 1 and 2 was established by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and variable regions were grouped by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism and subsequent sequencing. Antimicrobial resistance was established by disk diffusion. Ninety-seven isolates …

The Effect Of An Educational Handout On Knowledge, Awareness And Attitudes Of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (Prep) Among Participants At A Needle And Syringe Exchange Site, Mckenzie Buckel

DNP Projects

Background: In 2018, the total number of HIV cases in the United States was 1.2 million. Almost 186,500 of these cases were attributed to intravenous drug use. With the adherence to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) there is approximately a 49% decrease in the rates of HIV among people who inject drugs and the most significant barrier to PrEP among this population is a lack of awareness and knowledge.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine participants’ of a needle and syringe exchange site knowledge, awareness and attitudes of PrEP after reviewing an educational handout about PrEP.

Methods: A quasi …

Novel Therapeutic Approaches To Treat Brain Cancer Combining 3d Cell Culture Models, Cold Atmospheric Plasma And Airborne Acoustic, Janith Wanigasekara

Doctoral

Glioblastoma (GBM), an adult-type diffuse grade 4 glioma (IDH wild type), is the most prevalent, aggressive, fatal, highly vascularized, malignant primary brain tumour in adults with a poor prognosis. Despite existing therapies such as surgical resection, radiation therapy and chemotherapy such as temozolomide (TMZ), patient survival remains largely unchanged over the last three decades. There is an urgent need for novel and effective therapeutic strategies that can overcome drug resistance, cross the blood brain barrier, and minimise off-target side effects that can negatively impact a patient's quality of life. The high failure rate of clinical trials is due to inefficient …

Soft X-Ray And Susceptibility Based Magnetic Resonance Imaging To Map Iron Distribution In Apples: Initial Results To Model Iron Storage In Water-Deficient Or Dehydrated Biological Tissue, Subhendra N. Sarkar, Eric Lobel, Evans Lespinasse, Zoya Vinokur, Analia Basilicata, Sonia Orellana, Maria Orellana, Aaliyah Salmon, Joanna Syska, Aravis Mcbroom, Jian Wang, Anam Riaz, Jodi-Ann Douglas

Publications and Research

Radiology departments have contributed significantly to greenhouse gases including release of toxic imaging contrast media to environment. We feel Radiology also has several spectroscopy and imaging tools that may apply to monitor and support cleaner environmental goals. The current manuscript is one of the firsts to prompt Radiology to move in that direction by non invasive imaging of bio metals that are less abundant in biological tissues but play key roles as co-factors in tissue structure and function. Conventional analytical tools are mostly invasive and cannot characterize the native oxidation states of bio metals. We chose carbohydrate matrix of metal-rich …

A Gbd 2019 Study Of Health And Sustainable Development Goal Gains And Forecasts To 2030 In Spain, Jeffrey V Lazarus, Alberto Ortiz, Stefanos Tyrovolas, Esteve Fernández, Danielle Guy, Trenton M White, Rui Ma, Simon I Hay, Mohsen Naghavi, Joan B Soriano, Gbd 2019 Spain Collaborators

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

This study aimed to report mortality, risk factors, and burden of diseases in Spain. The Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factors 2019 estimates the burden due to 369 diseases, injuries, and impairments and 87 risk factors and risk factor combinations. Here, we detail the updated Spain 1990-2019 burden of disease estimates and project certain metrics up to 2030. In 2019, leading causes of death were ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Alzheimer's disease, and lung cancer. Main causes of disability adjusted life years (DALYs) were ischaemic heart disease, diabetes, lung cancer, low back pain, and stroke. …

Variation In Human Water Turnover Associated With Environmental And Lifestyle Factors, Yosuke Yamada, Xueying Zhang, Mary E T Henderson, Hiroyuki Sagayama, Herman Pontzer, Daiki Watanabe, Tsukasa Yoshida, Misaka Kimura, Philip N Ainslie, Lene F Andersen, Liam J Anderson, Lenore Arab, Issad Baddou, Kweku Bedu-Addo, Ellen E Blaak, Stephane Blanc, Alberto G Bonomi, Carlijn V C Bouten, Pascal Bovet, Maciej S Buchowski, Nancy F Butte, Stefan G Camps, Graeme L Close, Jamie A Cooper, Richard Cooper, Sai Krupa Das, Lara R Dugas, Simon Eaton, Ulf Ekelund, Sonja Entringer, Terrence Forrester, Barry W Fudge, Annelies H Goris, Michael Gurven, Lewis G Halsey, Catherine Hambly, Asmaa El Hamdouchi, Marije B Hoos, Sumei Hu, Noorjehan Joonas, Annemiek M Joosen, Peter Katzmarzyk, Kitty P Kempen, William E Kraus, Wantanee Kriengsinyos, Robert F Kushner, Estelle V Lambert, William R Leonard, Nader Lessan, Corby K Martin, Anine C Medin, Erwin P Meijer, James C Morehen, James P Morton, Marian L Neuhouser, Theresa A Nicklas, Robert M Ojiambo, Kirsi H Pietiläinen, Yannis P Pitsiladis, Jacob Plange-Rhule, Guy Plasqui, Ross L Prentice, Roberto A Rabinovich, Susan B Racette, David A Raichlen, Eric Ravussin, Leanne M Redman, John J Reilly, Rebecca M Reynolds, Susan B Roberts, Albertine J Schuit, Luis B Sardinha, Analiza M Silva, Anders M Sjödin, Eric Stice, Samuel S Urlacher, Giulio Valenti, Ludo M Van Etten, Edgar A Van Mil, Jonathan C K Wells, George Wilson, Brian M Wood, Jack A Yanovski, Alexia J Murphy-Alford, Cornelia U Loechl, Amy H Luke, Jennifer Rood, Klaas R Westerterp, William W Wong, Motohiko Miyachi, Dale A Schoeller, John R Speakman

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Water is essential for survival, but one in three individuals worldwide (2.2 billion people) lack access to safe drinking water. Water intake requirements largely reflect water turnover (WT), the water used by the body each day. We investigated the determinants of human WT in 5,604 people from the ages of 8 days to 96 years from 26 countries using isotope tracking (2H) methods. Age, body size, and composition were significantly associated with WT as were physical activity, athletic status, pregnancy, socioeconomic status, and environmental characteristics (latitude, altitude, air temperature, and humidity). People in countries with low human development index (HDI) …

Epigenetic Regulation In Chromium-, Nickel- And Cadmium-Induced Carcinogenesis, Lei Zhao, Ranakul Islam, Yifang Wang, Xiujuan Zhang, Ling-Zhi Liu

Department of Medical Oncology Faculty Papers

Environmental and occupational exposure to heavy metals, such as hexavalent chromium, nickel, and cadmium, are major health concerns worldwide. Some heavy metals are well-documented human carcinogens. Multiple mechanisms, including DNA damage, dysregulated gene expression, and aberrant cancer-related signaling, have been shown to contribute to metal-induced carcinogenesis. However, the molecular mechanisms accounting for heavy metal-induced carcinogenesis and angiogenesis are still not fully understood. In recent years, an increasing number of studies have indicated that in addition to genotoxicity and genetic mutations, epigenetic mechanisms play critical roles in metal-induced cancers. Epigenetics refers to the reversible modification of genomes without changing DNA sequences; …

Loneliness And Alcohol-Related Problems Among College Students Who Report Binge Drinking Behavior: The Moderating Role Of Food And Alcohol Disturbance, Luke Herchenroeder, Stacy M Post, Michelle L Stock, Ellen W Yeung

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Loneliness and alcohol misuse are common among college students and pose a threat to public health. To better understand the longitudinal association between these public health concerns we examined food and alcohol disturbance (FAD; i.e., restricting one's caloric intake prior to drinking) as a moderator in the association between loneliness and alcohol-related problems. Participants were 456 college students from a mid-sized university who engaged in past 30-day binge drinking. The majority of participants identified as being White (67.1%), female (78.1%), and reported a mean age of 19.61 (SD = 1.54) years. Participants completed two surveys (3 weeks apart) over the …

Daphnia As A Sentinel Species For Environmental Health Protection: A Perspective On Biomonitoring And Bioremediation Of Chemical Pollution, Muhammad Abdullahi, Xiaojing Li, Mohamed Abou-Elwafa Abdallah, William Stubbings, Norman Yan, Marianne Barnard, Liang-Hong Guo, John K Colbourne, Luisa Orsini

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Despite available technology and the knowledge that chemical pollution damages human and ecosystem health, chemical pollution remains rampant, ineffectively monitored, rarely prevented, and only occasionally mitigated. We present a framework that helps address current major challenges in the monitoring and assessment of chemical pollution by broadening the use of the sentinel species Daphnia as a diagnostic agent of water pollution. And where prevention has failed, we propose the application of Daphnia as a bioremediation agent to help reduce hazards from chemical mixtures in the environment. By applying “omics” technologies to Daphnia exposed to real-world ambient chemical mixtures, we show improvements …

How To Survive College As An Acoa: The Effectiveness Of University Resources On Helping Acoas Socially And Psychologically Succeed During Their Academic Career, Kelly Buchan

Senior Theses

In 2019, 14.5 million people ages 12 and older had Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), but only 10% received treatment (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism [NIAAA], 2022). Parental drinking problems can directly affect children, or “Adult Children of Alcoholics.” Of the few studies targeting ACoAs, results show that ACoAs not only have higher risks of mental illness, but they also have lower GPAs and social health (Schroeder & Kelley, 2008). Thus, this study assessed the extent to which perceptions of the college drinking environment are related to higher depression rates in ACoAs, certain drinking motivations, and reluctance to use …

Promoting Cancer Health Equity: A Qualitative Study Of Mentee And Mentor Perspectives Of A Training Program For Underrepresented Scholars In Cancer Health Disparities, Anastasia Rogova, Isabel Martinez Leal, Maggie Britton, Shine Chang, Kamisha H Escoto, Kayce D Solari Williams, Crystal Roberson, Lorna H Mcneill, Lorraine R Reitzel

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Racial and ethnic minorities, and women, experience stark disparities in cancer risk behaviors and mortality rates, yet often remain underrepresented in scientific research positions. We conducted an exploratory, qualitative study to examine the value of mentored research experience as part of an NCI-funded research training program designed to increase the representation of minority and women scientists in cancer disparities research. Using individual interviews, we explored 16 mentees' and 7 mentors' program experiences and perspectives to identify the most effective strategies to build strong mentoring relationships that could ultimately contribute to increased representation in health disparities research. Two expert analysts employed …