Education and outreach in physical sciences in oncology

Abstract

Physical sciences are often overlooked in the field of cancer research. The Physical Sciences in Oncology Initiative was launched to integrate physics, mathematics, chemistry, and engineering with cancer research and clinical oncology through education, outreach, and collaboration. Here we provide a framework for education and outreach in emerging transdisciplinary fields.

Physical Sciences-Oncology Network

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the United States launched the Physical Sciences-Oncology Network (PS-ON) to foster the integration of physical sciences (mathematics, chemistry, physics, and engineering) with the growing understanding of genetic and molecular contributions to cancer. This initiative has funded 22 multi-project research centers and 17 individual research projects for five years each (the first and second phases in 2009 and 2015, respectively). The current centers focus on the role of physical sciences approaches in tumorigenesis and growthⁱ, cancer evolution and dynamics^ii,iii,iv, cancer metabolism^v, chromatin topology in cancer^vi, metastasis^vii,viii, drug distribution and efficacy^iv, and immunotherapeutic transport^x. Each center is allocated education and outreach funds as important adjuncts for the advancement of new transdisciplinary initiatives. These resources have been used to disseminate new methods, technologies, and knowledge to students, researchers, and lay communities. The PS-ON has also convened an education and outreach working group and a patient advocacy working group that meet to highlight successes, share challenges, and identify collaborative opportunities. Here we describe efforts to train the next generation of researchers in the integration of physical sciences with conventional cancer research approaches and to communicate the importance of physical sciences in oncology with lay and patient communities.

Training the Next Generation

Typical education and training of clinicians and cancer researchers focuses predominantly on molecular and cellular biology and physiology. Therefore, most biomedical scientists are not well versed in advanced physical science approaches. This lack of knowledge can significantly hinder scientific discovery and the full optimization of patient care. To foster the inclusion of physical sciences into the training of new biomedical researchers, the PS-ON has developed educational and outreach programs that target young high school students. Early exposure to science or engineering can increase overall interest levels and improve comprehension of scientific topics [1]. Outreach programs can also counteract the lack of students pursuing technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers, which is especially acute for underrepresented minorities and disadvantaged students [1]. Several summer undergraduate research programs developed by the PS-ON provide early exposure to research that bridges disciplines with the goal of stimulating interest in careers that integrate various branches of science (Table 1). Such programs have been accompanied by web-based courses on data science approaches and predictive modeling in cancer research. These programs are also offered as part of graduate and post-graduate education to provide a more well-rounded education. Such initiatives have also provided early-career researchers with opportunities to develop skills in mentorship, scientific communication, and program organization.

Table 1.

Physical Sciences in Oncology Center (PSOC) Outreach Activities.

K-12
Activity	Rationale	Description	Scientific Concepts	Participation	Results
Hands-on nanoparticle synthesis activity	Nanoparticles are promising cancer therapeutics, highlighting the need to train the next generation of researchers in nanoparticle synthesis (encompasses physical sciences, e.g., chemistry and engineering) Real-world applications of nanomedicine counteract negative connotations of nanotechnology created from fictional portrayals in pop-culture	On-site activity or distance learning kits Polymer cross-linking reactions to illustrate the formation of nanoparticle loaded with cancer drugs Activity is accompanied by instructions sheets, an electronic presentation with discussion topics, and a videoxii Activity kits have also been sent out to individuals and organizations, allowing instructors to independently implement the module with 50 K-12 students	Nanoparticle synthesis, drug loading ratios, and drug release Participants < 7 years: An additional ‘balloon-nanocarrier’ activity can be performed, which involves placing a ‘secret message’ inside the balloon and delivering the pseudo-nanocarrier to a specific target (person) to illustrate nanodelivery concepts Participants > 10 years: An additional ‘Design your own nanoparticle’ activity can be performed, which involves a poster presentation based on critical thinking of how to functionalize nanoparticles for improved delivery	~ 1000 participants/year (started in 2018)	Results from an anonymous written survey: 100% of students that attended an outreach event with the activity strongly agreed that it was a good experience. 62% strongly agreed and 26% agreed that the event helped them choose a career
Hands-on nanodelivery activity	Nanoparticles are promising cancer therapeutics, highlighting the need to train the next generation of researchers in nanodelivery (encompasses physical sciences, e.g., mass transport, fluid dynamics, and pressure gradients in the body) Real-world applications of nanomedicine counteract negative connotations of nanotechnology created from fictional portrayals in pop-culture	On-site activity Wooden marble castle represents the body and marbles represent nanoparticles Activity is accompanied by an educational booklet	Nanodelivery, nanoparticle transport in the body, and optimization of nanoparticle design	~ 700 participants/year (started in 2017)	Results from an informal oral survey: Undergraduate students, graduate students, postgraduate fellows, faculty members, and patient advocates who have participated in the organization of this activity have described it as “simple, effective, and engaging”, and an experience that has helped them “understand the scope of the research”
High School Internship Program in Integrated Mathematical Oncology	Mathematical and computational models are promising for understanding the complex dynamics of cancer, highlighting the need to train the next generation of researchers in physical sciences (e.g., mathematical oncology)	Eight-week summer internship program consisting of a boot camp for mathematical modeling and supervised research	Mathematical oncology Professional skill building: record keeping, laboratory techniques, and oral presentations	~12 students/year (started in 2015)	Results from an anonymous written survey: Self-assessed skills are shown in Results from tracking of past students [6]: 100% went on to pursue a college degree. 35% pursued a double major in quantitative and life sciences with computer sciences being the dominant major. Two pursued a medical degree and two received undergraduate degrees and are enrolled in graduate programs for computer science, 5 peer-reviewed publications with high school student authors
Undergraduate
Activity	Rationale	Description	Concepts	Participation	Results
Summer research program (Chicago Region Physical Sciences in Oncology Center)	Multidisciplinary approaches are promising for addressing challenges in oncology, highlighting the need to train the next generation of researchers in both physical sciences and cancer biology	Eight-week summer research program Designed to acquaint students with physical science majors with basic principles and methodologies in cancer research Supervised research and participation in weekly cancer biology seminars/workshops	Cancer research, especially chromatin topology Professional skill building: scientific writing, presentations, and laboratory techniques	~ 6 students/year (started in 2010)	Results from tracking of past students: ~ 50% have been underrepresented minorities and over 90% have gone on to pursue a graduate or medical degree
Summer research program (Center for Immunotherapeutic Transport Oncophysics)	Multidisciplinary approaches are promising for addressing challenges in oncology, highlighting the need to train the next generation of researchers in both physical sciences and cancer biology	10-week summer research program Supervised research	Mathematical oncology, biophysics, cancer research Professional skill building: scientific writing, laboratory techniques, programming languages (i.e., MATLAB), and oral presentations	~ 2–5/year (started in 2017)	Results from an informal oral survey: Students report that they have gained confidence in their aptitude for research and motivation for future projects in interdisciplinary biomedical research
Summer research program (National Cancer Institute)	Multidisciplinary approaches are promising for addressing challenges in oncology, highlighting the need to train the next generation of systems biologists and physical oncologists, which begins with mentored research experiences that attract students to the field	10-week summer research program Students conduct supervised research Student present their work at a two-day conference at the National Institute of Health (NIH)	Oncophysics; cell and tissue mechanics; cancer evolution and dynamics; drug distribution and efficacy; immunotherapeutic transport; bioinformatics; systems biology; computational modeling Professional skill building: laboratory techniques, computational data analysis, scientific writing, poster presentations, networking	~ 16 students / year (one student at each center (started in 2005)	21 of the 46 participants between 2017–2019 are still undergraduate students working towards their degrees 10 of the 25 who have completed undergraduate degrees have joined graduate programs in biomedical fields. 7 others have science-focused careers (2 are completing post baccalaureate fellowships at the NIH) 18 of 45 wrote or co-wrote a paper to be published in an academic journal
Web-Based Training (miniDREAM Challenge)	There has been an exponential growth of data, highlighting the need to train the next generation of researchers in bioinformatics and data science	Several week-long web-based training modules in data science to supplement supervised research in summer research program Inspired by DREAM challenges - crowd-sourced approaches for biomedical research [7] Modules include use of data from the Cancer Genome Atlas and PS-ON [8] and the Cell Migration simulator [4]	Bioinformatic, data science, predictive modeling, biomedical research	~ 20 students/year (started in 2017)
Graduate and post-graduate
Activity	Rationale	Description	Concepts	Participation	Results
Funding opportunities (sandpit and challenge-style workshops) [2]	Multidisciplinary approaches are promising for addressing challenges in oncology, highlighting the need to foster cross-disciplinary team science and provide pilot project seed funding for early-stage investigators, who often face difficulties in obtaining federal funding support for nontraditional approaches to cancer research	Competitions that provide pilot project funding for early-career researchers for multidisciplinary projects in cancer research The goal is to provide support for generating preliminary data for NIH grant applications Established investigators who are ineligible for the funding serve as impartial judges for junior participants	Interdisciplinary areas of cancer metastasis research	~ 25 early-stage investigators and 4 established investigator mentors (program active in 2017–2018)	Four pilot project awards (active 2017–2018) and long-term outcome of two NIH awards on the collaborative projects
Fundamentals of Cancer Workshops	Multidisciplinary approaches are promising for addressing challenges in oncology, highlighting the need to bring together researchers from physical sciences with oncologists and cancer biologists	Half-day summer workshop where oncologists and cancer biologists address cancer-related topics at a level that is accessible to researchers who do not have a background in life sciences. Lectures are also available onlinexiii	Fundamentals of cancer biology, metastasis, methods in cancer research, and therapeutic approaches	~ 90 participants / workshop (program started in 2010)	Results from an anonymous survey: Participants had an intense interest in learning opportunities that provide a broad overview of needs and challenges in cancer research
Transport Oncophysics Workshop	Multidisciplinary approaches are promising for addressing challenges in oncology, highlighting the need to bring together researchers from various fields	One-day workshop with lectures, interactive tours, group projects, and group presentations	Transport oncophysics	Participants from more than 10 institutions (2016)	Results from an anonymous written survey: The workshop received an overall rating of 9.2 on a scale from 1–10 (with 10 being the best)
Integrated Mathematical Oncology Workshop	Mathematical and computational models are promising for understanding the complex dynamics of cancer, highlighting the need to bring together expertise from various fields to develop such models	One-week workshop where teams of experts in clinical, experimental, and theoretical research and tasked with developing and implementing a mathematical model for the workshop theme	Mathematical oncology, scientific discussions, practical tasks, and peer teaching	> 700 participants (program started in 2011)	Outcome: Publications from workshop projects [9–12], a dedicated bioRxiv channelxiv, and websitexv
Mathematical Oncology Meetings	Mathematical and computational models are promising for understanding the complex dynamics of cancer, highlighting the need to bring together experts in the field to discuss challenges and opportunities	Mathematicians have met on a biennial basis to share the current state of the art in mathematical oncology Discussion topics have included ongoing work, challenges, solutions, and collaborative opportunities in the area of computational and mathematical modeling of cancer	Mathematical oncology and scientific discussions	60–100 participants / year (program started in 2011)	Outcome: Establishment of the Handbook of Mathematical Oncology, a public shared resource of cancer models and modeling approaches in the form of short and succinct mini-papers. This resource currently consists of 50 papers that highlight key methods, concepts, and approaches underlying the state-of-the-art in mathematical oncology
Patient Engagement Curriculum [13]	Understanding the patient perspective and the ability to effectively communicate science with lay audiences is likely to improve cancer research, highlighting the need to train the next generation of researchers in these skills	Four-course curriculum for graduate students and post-graduate fellows focused on patient engagement Patient interviews, seminars on public policy, and communication, and workshops where a lay audience evaluates scientific presentations	Patient advocacy and science communication	~ 30 participants / year (program started in 2013)	Published reflections from course participants: “The patient-researcher partnership transformed our research from an intellectual exercise into a deeply personal endeavor. It reminds us that people with cancer are not merely cells or molecular pathways. They are neighbors, colleagues, friends, and relatives. They are valued partners in the fight against cancer [14].”
Lay communities
Activity	Rationale	Description	Concepts	Participation	Results
Educational video (Research primer on mammographic density)	Effectively communicating scientific concepts to lay audiences is promising for obtaining research support and informing individual/collective decision making	Video conveying concepts in breast cancer in a manner that is accessible to lay audiencesxvi Translated into Spanish to reach a wider audience	Relation of force, stress, viscosity, stiffness, plasticity and elasticity to cellular properties of growth, behavior and tumor progression	Over 5,000 views since 2014	Outcome: Video has been shared as an abstract at the Physical Sciences in Oncology Network Investigator Meeting and at the American Association for Cancer Research Disparities Meeting [15]
Educational dance performance (Bodystorming)	Effectively communicating scientific concepts to lay audiences is promising for obtaining research support and informing individual/collective decision making	Professional dancers (Black Label Movement) create narrated choreographic simulations of scientific processes in a manner that is accessible to lay audiences [3] An interactive module was developed for a K-12 classroom setting as well as scientific conferences (Neuro-Oncology Symposium 2018, PS-ON Annual Investigator’s Meeting 2019).	Diffusion, self-assembly, energy consumption, cell migration, cell division, cancer progression, and metastasis [3, 4]	Estimated 3000 active participants (program started in 2009) Estimated 550k-650k views of various TED talks on the subject	Results from an informal oral survey: Patients, artists, and caregivers reported that the performances made scientific ideas more easily accessible Outcome: Demonstrations have become centerpieces at annual events such as the ‘Cancer in the Body’ event at the Science Museum of Minnesota and ‘Goldy vs. Cancer’ event held at the Minnesota State Fair Bodystorming has prompted research ideas and further computational modeling resulting in a published scientific article [5]
Educational text (Public Interest Pieces)	Effectively communicating scientific concepts to lay audiences is promising for obtaining research support and informing individual/collective decision making	A one-page document conveying concepts in cancer research in a manner that is accessible to lay audiences Student researchers, postgraduate fellows, or faculty members write these pieces together with patient advocates	Science communication Cancer research	8–10 participants / year (program started in 2018)

These programs focus specifically on areas of the physical sciences that are currently underutilized despite having broad impact on cancer research and patient care including mathematical modeling and nanotechnology. Computational models are becoming increasingly important due to the exponential growth of data incorporating a range of biological scales (molecular, cellular, tissue, and organ) and diverse techniques (gene expression, histological staining, and imaging). Appropriate mathematical and computational models are promising for understanding the complex dynamics of the evolving non-linear system that is cancer. Such models must be adequately informed by data to generate testable hypotheses that iteratively inform new experiments, and ultimately translate into novel clinical strategies. Given the many needs and opportunities for training at this emerging interface of the PS-ON, an eight-week high school summer program based on mathematical oncology was established. This training aims to increase interest, engagement, and understanding of the biophysical and mathematical aspects of cancer research through sustained exposure to research professionals (Table 1). Moreover, cancer nanotechnology is an emerging transdisciplinary field that relies on chemistry, physics, and engineering. Nanoparticles show great potential as an additional category of therapeutic agents beyond small molecules and antibody therapeutics. But the development of more complex nanomedicines with greater therapeutic potential will only be realized after the successful integration of chemistry, physics, and engineering with cancer research. In addition, recent negative portrayals of nanotechnology in pop-culture, such as deadly nanobots, have misconstrued the positive impact of such technology for society. Therefore, outreach activities that demonstrate the advantages and real-world applications of nanomedicine could promote the development of new therapies. Such activities developed by the PS-ON include hands-on nanoparticle activities, focusing on nanoparticle synthesis and nanodelivery (Table 1).

To successfully establish a cultural shift that includes education as a cornerstone in new interdisciplinary fields, efforts should also be made to increase support for researchers to effectively share expertise with other investigators. To support such training, senior investigators within the PS-ON have developed workshops and new graduate courses that bridge the topics of physical sciences and oncology. These initiatives also train early-career researchers in professional skills, such as science communication (Table 1). Many of these workshops have involved interactive activities where participants take part in scientific discussions, practical tasks, and peer teaching, which is thought to maximize learning efficacy and retention. Meetings and poster sessions have also been dedicated to the work of students and postgraduate fellows, and opportunities have been provided for pilot project funding, especially for projects that involve interdisciplinary collaborations with early-career researchers (Table 1) [2]. Additionally, meetings for senior investigators have been organized to facilitate discussion on ongoing work, challenges, solutions, and collaborative opportunities, as well as develop shared public resources, e.g., a handbook of mathematical oncology (Table 1). Additionally, center advocates with expertise in entrepreneurship have played an important role in helping faculty members develop companies that can commercialize or license innovations. An exemplary success story is the ongoing commercialization of a revolutionary non-invasive method for early stage cancer screening, which is built on the discovery of nanoscale changes in DNA packaging in cancer cells.^xi

Communicating with Lay Audiences

Substantial efforts have been made to include patient advocacy as cornerstones in the field of physical sciences in oncology. A resource offered to investigators to engage patient communities is the NCI Office of Advocacy Relations (OAR) [2]. Additionally, many PS-ON centers have patient advocates who work together with researchers to shape the direction of scientific projects and provide training for early-career investigators. Interactions between researchers, patient communities, and lay communities have helped convey the importance of the emerging field of physical sciences in oncology to the public, which is critical for promoting sustained support of research efforts and informing decision-making. Moreover, such interactions have served as educational platforms for researchers to consider the most pressing societal and medical needs that could benefit from scientific efforts.

Members of the PS-ON have organized several educational initiatives involving text and video-based resources to communicate the importance of physical sciences in oncology to a lay audience (Table 1). Additionally, dance and choreographic strategies accompanied by scientific narrations have been used as a tool to facilitate communication of research concepts to the public. Specifically, PS-ON investigators have teamed up with a professional dance company, the Black Label Movement, to develop scientific simulations, termed Bodystorming [3, 4]. For example, cell division can be physically modeled by a pair of participants beginning with their hands joined at shoulder height and slowly extending until both arms reach a fully outstretched position. At that point, two other participants join the simulation to break the bond of the original pair emulating cytokinesis. As the new set of “cells” join hands with the original “cell” participants, their hands are pushed back to their shoulders as they begin the process of outstretching their arms once again. The speed at which they extend their arms can be altered to model varying cell proliferation rates. A second variable, migration, can be introduced by varying the size, frequency, and direction of each step. Using these two variables alone the dynamics of cancer progression can be explored in terms of the formation of diffuse vs. defined margin tumors and implications of each tumor type on surgical resection outcomes. Bodystorming has also been incorporated in several scientific conferences, where researchers, dance artists, clinicians, and patient advocates have participated in simulation activities. In addition to building a more interconnected and inclusive research community, such choreographic simulations have also prompted research ideas and further computational modeling resulting in published scientific articles [5].

Concluding Remarks

The PS-ON has offered participating centers the opportunity to connect and unite researchers, clinicians, patients, and community members in the fight against cancer by increasing awareness and understanding of the advancements made in the field of physical sciences applied to cancer research. Exposing the next generation of researchers to physical sciences in oncology at a critical career stage is likely to ensure a certain amount of longevity for the developing field of physical sciences in oncology. The network has also provided many benefits to current members of the field by way of training opportunities and collaborations to advance ongoing research. Additionally, the emphasis placed on outreach to the community at large appears to have been a success in garnering interest and attention, and in building relationships and understanding among participants. Moving forward, efforts should be made to evaluate the long-term impact of these education and outreach programs.