About the Partnership

The communities in the Ponce and Tampa Bay regions experience both shared and unique challenges associated with health drivers that contribute to cancer outcomes, including genetics, poverty, and access to healthcare. Since 2006, an engaged team of investigators from the Moffitt Cancer Center (MCC, an NCI designated Comprehensive Cancer Center) in Florida and the Ponce Health Sciences University (PHSU) in Puerto Rico (PR) have forged a strong relationship and leveraged their respective strengths and resources to address these needs with the ultimate goal of eliminating health drivers that contribute to differences in cancer outcomes across all populations. The PHSU-MCC Partnership is founded on seamless communication and mutual support. The Partnership is a catalyst that facilitates recruitment of new faculty at PHSU in basic and translational cancer research, increase in health disparities research focus at MCC, establishment and growth of the Partnership’s Biobank (Puerto Rico BioBank), exchange of research and medical trainees between institutions, and development of community outreach and educational materials for the communities in Ponce and Tampa. We also support the recruitment and successful advancement of Early-Stage Investigators (ESIs) at both PHSU and MCC. The Partnership has proved to be highly resilient, overcoming and providing vital support to our communities during several major hurricanes in Florida and PR, and devastating earthquakes in PR.

These efforts have resulted in a strong inter-institutional relationship, a network of investigators addressing health drivers of cancer outcomes, and a resilient partnership infrastructure. The achievements and lessons learned during this period provide a strong basis to guide the evolution and further expansion of this Partnership, whose primary goals are to improve cancer outcomes in our communities and the American population at large.

The PHSU-MCC Partnership is supported by the National Cancer Institute's U54 Comprehensive Partnerships to Advance Cancer Health funding mechanism (CA163068 and CA163071).

PHSU-MCC Partnership members at the 2024 Annual Program Steering Committee (PSC) Meeting

Partnership Structure

The PHSU-MCC Partnership is structured to foster collaborative cancer research, community engagement, and workforce development through an integrated network of cores, shared resources, research projects, and committees. Guided by the National Cancer Institute and coordinated through the Administrative Core, the Partnership is supported by a Planning and Evaluation Core that provides strategic oversight through the Program Steering Committee and Internal Advisory Committee.

The Partnership also includes multidisciplinary research projects, shared resources such as the Puerto Rico Biobank and Quantitative Sciences Core, an Outreach Core that engages Community Health Educators, and a Research Education Core that supports training and career development. Together, these components create a collaborative framework that advances cancer research, strengthens community impact, and promotes the development of early-stage investigators and student trainees.

Partnership Resource Guide

The Partnership Resource Guide is a quick-reference tool that highlights the services, resources, and support available across the Partnership’s core components. From grant and manuscript development, biostatistics, bioinformatics, and biospecimen resources to research education, program evaluation, and community engagement support, the guide helps investigators, trainees, and staff identify available expertise and connect with the appropriate core for their research and professional development needs.