Carcinogenesis, Vol. 20, No. 11, 2041-2044,
November 1999
© 1999 Oxford University Press
International Agency for Research on Cancer fellowships programme—over 30 years of experience
R. Montesano1 and
E.El Akroud
International Agency for Research on Cancer, 150 cours Albert-Thomas, 69372 Lyon Cedex 08, France
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Abstract
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In 1966 the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)
initiated a fellowship programme designed for young postdoctoral
scientists from any country in the world who wish to receive
training in another country in an area relevant to the aetiology
and pathogenesis of cancer. Various disciplines are covered
such as cellular and molecular biology, pathology, genetics
and biochemistry, and particular attention is given to training
in cancer epidemiology. A total of 471 fellowships have been
awarded during the last 32 years, averaging 15 fellowships per
year, and representing approximately one in four of the applications
evaluated every year. Thirty-six percent of the total number
of fellowships awarded have come from developing countries and
eastern Europe. North America and western Europe are the regions
preferentially selected by 98% of the fellows for training,
with the USA (48%) and the UK (19%) remaining the most frequently
selected countries for a host laboratory. Approximately 82–85%
of fellows returned to their home countries and around 82% remain
active in cancer research. A total of 101 fellowships have been
awarded in epidemiology or biostatistics with the majority of
IARC fellows in epidemiology originating from developing countries
or developed countries in which the teaching of chronic diseases
epidemiology is deficient. In addition, the IARC has received
considerable input into its activities through its fellowship
programme. The IARC fellowship programme is an effective tool
in the provision of training in cancer research to young scientists
worldwide, selected on the basis of scientific excellence and
has made a substantial contribution to the development of cancer
research in many countries.
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Introduction
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Various national and international fellowship programmes are
specifically geared to providing training in cancer research
ranging from basic science to clinical work, including cancer
nursing. Other fellowship programmes (e.g. European Molecular
Biology Organization, Human Frontier Science Program, etc.),
although not having cancer as priority, have contributed to
the training of postdoctoral fellows who later become involved
in cancer research. Practically all these fellowship programmes
operate within industrialised countries and very few consider
cancer epidemiology.
In 1966 the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) initiated a fellowship programme, designed for young postdoctoral scientists with no previous postdoctoral experience, from any country in the world who wish to receive training in another country. The areas of training cover various disciplines, such as cellular and molecular biology, pathology, genetics and biochemistry, relevant to the aetiology and pathogenesis of cancer and particular attention is given to training in cancer epidemiology. In developing countries, cancer is becoming an important cause of mortality and morbidity in the adult population (1). The training of personnel in cancer research including epidemiology is essential in coping with this public health problem.
To date, some 471 fellowships have been awarded and, at this stage, it is of interest to analyse and evaluate the impact of the IARC fellowships programme.
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Selection procedure
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In recent years ~100–120 applications have been received
annually from all over the world; ~40–50 of these are
excluded in a preliminary screening, due mainly to substandard
quality or ineligibility. Thus, out of the total received, 50–60
applications are reviewed and evaluated by an ad hoc selection
committee, composed at present of nine scientists from outside
the Agency and two IARC scientists. About 15 fellowships are
awarded each year for a duration of 1 year.
Upon termination of the fellowship, each fellow is requested to provide a brief report of his experience and achievements during the fellowship; the fellow's supervisor is also requested to provide an evaluation of the fellow and his work. The follow-up procedure that was established at the inception of the programme permits us to make a valuable evaluation of the accomplishments of this programme, suggest possible improvements for the future and assess complementarity with other cancer fellowship programmes.
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Analysis of IARC fellowships awarded during 1966–1998
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A total of 471 fellowships have been awarded during the last
32 years, averaging 15 fellowships per year, and representing
approximately one in four of the applications evaluated every
year. The majority of the fellows (365 out of 471, 77%) have
been men, but the ratio of females to males has increased progressively
from 0.14 (1966–1976), through 0.32 (1977–1986)
to 0.50 (1987–1998). The median age of the fellows over
the last 32 years was 31.4. A complete list of the IARC fellows
can be found on:
http://www.iarc.fr.
Table I
lists the countries of origin of the fellows. Thirty-six percent of the total number of fellowships awarded were to applicants from developing countries and eastern Europe, and the others to applicants from western Europe (38%), North America (7%) and other countries (18%: Japan, Israel, Australia and New Zealand) (Figure 1). It should be noted that, up to 1990, the IARC fellowships programme was one of the few programmes that permitted young scientists from eastern Europe to visit other countries and maintain a scientific link with the international scientific community. In more recent years the number of applicants for IARC fellowships from these countries has declined, partly due to the possibility of obtaining other fellowships but also to the present difficulty for young scientists, especially in Russia, to pursue a scientific career. Applications from the People's Republic of China began to increase upon the termination of the cultural revolution in the late 1970s, and continue to be significant.
As is to be expected, North America and western Europe are the
regions preferentially selected by 98% of the fellows for training,
and the USA (48%) remains by far the most frequently selected
country for a host laboratory, followed by the UK (19%), France
(7%), and Sweden, Germany and Canada (Table I
). This is not
surprising in the light of the size of these countries and the
level of their `scientific wealth' (
2). It is also of interest
to make a comparison among the host countries, not only on the
basis of absolute numbers, but in terms of the number of visiting
fellows relative to the numbers of research/development scientists
and engineers of the host countries (for the numbers of scientists
in these countries, see ref.
3). A rather interesting picture
emerges (Figure 2
): Sweden having 122 fellows/10
5 Swedish scientists,
followed by the UK (70), France (27.3), Switzerland (26), USA
(22.7) and The Netherlands and Belgium (19). It is noticeable
that some countries, namely Spain, Italy and Japan, have unexpectedly
low numbers of visiting fellows (3, 1.3 and 0.65, respectively).
A similar picture emerges from the analysis of the UICC-American
Cancer Society fellowships programme (data from the UICC). Data
from the EMBO fellowships also show low numbers of fellows in
molecular biology who visited countries of southern Europe,
in particular Italy, Spain and Greece (
4). This could be attributed
to a combination of factors such as high cost of living, cultural
difference and the organization and level of scientific research
of the host country as compared with other countries. It is
of interest to note that comparisons of the investment in basic
research compared with the relative output of scientific research
papers in various countries shows the UK and Sweden to be at
the top and Italy and Japan at the bottom (
5). This indicates
that investment in research and development including training
is not very efficient if not accompanied by drastic changes
in the organization of research structures in a given country.
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Fig. 2. Distribution of IARC fellows (total 471) among various host countries, expressed as number of fellows/105 scientists of the host country. [The number of scientists in each country was obtained from the UNESCO World Science Report, 1993 (3).]
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The follow-up of the fellows enables us to know the number of
fellows who returned to their home country upon termination
of their fellowship or after an extension funded from sources
other than IARC. A survey covering the period 1966–1984
(
6) and a more recent one covering the last decade (IARC internal
technical document) show that 82–85% of fellows returned
to their home countries (Figure 3
). Out of the 138 fellows awarded
during the years 1985–1995, 18 failed to return to their
home country; this group includes nine fellows originating from
developed countries who went to countries of the same geographical
area and one who went to a developing country, two from China
and three from Russia who stayed in the host country and three
from China who went to another developed country. Four of these
fellows were in the field of epidemiology.
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Disciplines
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The IARC fellowships programme covers a broad spectrum of biological
disciplines and these are well represented among the 471 fellowships
awarded (Figure 4
). It is noteworthy that 101 fellowships (21%
of the total) have been awarded in cancer epidemiology and biostatistics.
At present, IARC fellowships are one of the few international
fellowships to provide training in this discipline, and in most
regions of the world, including various countries in western
Europe, there is a virtual absence of graduate training programmes
in chronic disease epidemiology. For these reasons and in the
light of the fact that epidemiology, a major component of IARC's
activities, is a major tool in cancer aetiology and cancer control,
particularly in developing countries, considerable emphasis
is given to this discipline in the IARC fellowship programme.
In addition, recent progress in understanding the processes
of carcinogenesis at the cellular and molecular level and in
molecular biology permit effective integration of more basic
research disciplines with epidemiology.
Since 1966 a total of 101 fellowships have been awarded in epidemiology
or biostatistics, equally distributed between formal training
(following a university course) and research training (carrying
out a research project). These are listed in Table II
according
the countries of origin. The proportion of fellowships awarded
in epidemiology compared with other disciplines was higher over
the last two decades.
The majority of IARC fellows in epidemiology originate from
developing countries or developed countries in which the teaching
of chronic disease epidemiology at university level is deficient
or absent. Ninety-two percent of fellows in epidemiology went
to the UK, the USA or the IARC and all of them returned home
to hold a key position in their home institution, with the exception
of a total of 10 cases. The expertise these fellows acquired
through their training was instrumental in the establishment
of various cancer registries and in the development of analytical
and descriptive epidemiological studies in countries like Italy
and France as well as various developing countries.
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Conclusions
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Analysis, based on 130 fellows selected by random sampling over
the period 1966–1994, shows that an overall mean of 2.5
papers were published per year (Figure 5
). This indicates that
upon termination of the fellowship, IARC fellows went on to
pursue a research career.
Another satisfying outcome is that a substantial proportion
of the fellows originate from developing countries or countries
where certain disciplines in cancer research are under-represented
(Figure 1
), and that, with a few exceptions, they all returned
to their home country and contributed significantly to the development
of cancer research and cancer control. From India, six fellows
received training in cancer epidemiology and they are now the
leading persons in the maintenance of cancer registries in this
country. A similar impact of the IARC fellowship programme is
the noticeable development of cancer epidemiology in countries
like Italy, France and Japan, and in eastern Europe.
The IARC has received considerable input into its activities through its fellowship programme. A total of 58 fellows worked at the Agency and their number has increased in the last decade; in addition, 22 former fellows have occupied or at present hold a senior position at the Agency.
The conclusion to be drawn from this analysis is that the IARC fellowship programme is an effective tool in the development and implementation of IARC activities as well as in the provision of training in cancer research to young scientists world-wide, selected on the basis of scientific excellence. The selection criteria for IARC fellowships clearly do not impede access to these fellowships to applicants from developing countries, as indicated by their high success rate in basic science and in cancer epidemiology.
Non-communicable diseases are the major cause of death in the adult population of developing countries and cancers of the liver in man and of the cervix are among the 10 most frequent causes of deaths (7). In the future, the number of cancer cases in developing countries is certain to rise due to increased exposure to major risk factors like tobacco smoke, lack of effective intervention programmes for HBV vaccination and appropriate screening programmes, as well as an increase in the population age. Thus, the provision of trained scientists is one important means for reacting to this situation, together with development in the home countries of the appropriate health care structure and the political will to confront the problem.
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Acknowledgments
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The IARC gratefully acknowledges the contribution it has received
from the Italian Association for Research on Cancer which has
partially supported this fellowship programme since 1987.
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Notes
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1 To whom correspondence should be addressed Email:
montesano{at}iarc.fr 
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References
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May,R.M. (1997) The scientific wealth of nations. Science, 275, 793–796.[Free Full Text]
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World Science Report 1993 (1993) UNESCO Publishing, Paris, France.
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Anderson,A. (1992) Molecular biology. U.S. juggernaut overwhelms divided European elite [news]. Science, 256, 460–464.[Free Full Text]
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Sohier,R., Cole,P. and Montesano,R. (1986) Report on the IARC research training fellowships programme (1966–1984). IARC Internal Technical Report No. 86/002.
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Received May 19, 1999;
revised June 29, 1999;
accepted July 9, 1999.
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Abstract
Introduction
