Adapting an Undergraduate Summer Internship to a Virtual Format: Implementing a Mentored Cancer Research Experience to Meet Rising Demand for Flexible Learning Environments.

To meet the rising demand for flexible learning in data-driven health research, we adapted an in-person undergraduate research program (Quantitative Sciences Undergraduate Research Experience (QSURE)) to an all-virtual framework in summer 2020 and 2021. We used Web-conferencing and remote computing to implement virtual hands-on research training within a comprehensive cancer center. We designed the program to achieve research and career development goals: students completed faculty-mentored quantitative research projects and received education in the responsible conduct of research and practical skills, such as oral and written presentation.

Development of a Virtual Reality Coping Skills Game to Prevent Post-Hospitalization Smoking Relapse in Tobacco Dependent Cancer Patients.

Many hospitalized smokers return to smoking after hospital discharge even though continued smoking can compromise treatment effectiveness, reduce survival, increase risk of disease recurrence, and impair quality of life. After leaving a smoke-free hospital, patients encounter smoking cues at home, such as family members who smoke or emotional triggers such as stress, which can elicit powerful urges to smoke and lead to smoking relapse. Enabling smokers to experience such urges in a controlled setting while providing the ability to practice coping skills may be a useful strategy for building quitting self-efficacy.