Education & Training
CRCH CURE and Meiji Yasuda Programs

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is CRCH?

• CRCH is a cancer center designated by the National Cancer Institute that conducts research on the causes, prevention and treatment of cancer across a broad array of disciplines. Research areas include epidemiology, molecular carcinogenesis, cancer treatment, prevention methods, quality of life in cancer survivors, new therapeutic approaches to cancer treatment, and community-based interventions to promote cancer preventive lifestyles in our multiethnic population.

What are the potential areas of research where I will be working?

• Students can be assigned to research in laboratory.

Will there be housing accommodations for students from outside Oahu? If not, is there assistance in arranging housing?

• Housing is not provided for students—it is the student’s responsibility to acquire his or her own housing. Affordable summer housing can be found at the Atherton YMCA, UHM student housing (requires registration in a class such as a 1-credit P.E. class), or on the Craigslist website.

How are mentors paired with students? Can students request work in particular departments?

• Every attempt is made to match students and mentors who have similar research interests. We will also consider special requests to work in particular cancer-related departments; however, all participating mentors must be CRCH members. It is helpful for the student to be as specific as possible when listing areas of research interest in their application.

Will I be working on a project that I want to develop/continue or will it be one that is assigned?

• Most projects are a subset of a larger project. They are usually specially designed and developed by mentors.

What are the potential areas of research/departments where I will be working?

• Students can be assigned to a variety of oncology related environments across the basic, clinical and population science research spectrum.

What is the program schedule?

• Students begin their experience with an orientation session and safety or other training. Participants spend 4-5 full-time days per week in their research environments. At the end of the summer, students meet to give PowerPoint presentations of what they accomplished.

Is my project in the research environment supposed to be completed by the end of the program?

• CURE students are required to present their research findings, whether complete or incomplete, to colleagues and researchers at the end of the summer, and periodically during the 2 year program. Students may follow up with their mentors later on to get periodic updates regarding the research they participated in.

Is there an opportunity to continue research past the summer experience with my mentor if I am not enrolled in the year round program?

• Students selected for a summer-only experience should feel free to communicate their interest of continuing their research directly with their mentor.

Do all students have the same research project?

• Students are paired up individually with different mentors. Research may sometimes be similar if students work in the same research environment together.

How does the year-round CURE program work?

• The year round CURE program provides students with a full time research setting during the summer, and a part-time continuum of activities throughout the academic school year. Students may optionally continue the experience the following summer and school year.

If I apply for the CURE summer-only experience, can I re-apply for the year-round experience?

• Yes.

If I go to college out of state, can I be in the year-round program?

• Students in the year-round program must be able to attend work at CRCH in Honolulu.

Are there networking opportunities?

• There are ample networking opportunities for students—as part of their research internship, they are encouraged to attend regular CRCH seminars/lectures given by experienced researchers. Students are also highly encouraged to network within their own department and seek out opportunities for themselves.

Is there a stipend, and if so how much?

• CURE students are paid hourly according to the University of Hawaii Student Research Fellow pay rates and receive a paycheck twice every month. Meiji Yasuda students receive a stipend of $3,000 in installments.

What are the start/end dates for the summer program?

• Start and end dates are agreed upon between the student and mentor and the student is fully committed for a nine-week period. Students must give advance notice of any changes.

 

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