TRACER Developmental Research Program

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DEVELOPMENTAL RESEARCH PROGRAM: PROJECT SUMMARY The Developmental Research Program (DRP) within this P20 Translational Research Center in Lung Cancer Disparities (TRACER) application aims to select and support highly promising and innovative pilot research projects to reduce health disparities in lung cancer. The TRACER MPI and DRP leadership (representing the 3 participating National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers at Virginia Commonwealth University, Medical University of South Carolina, and City of Hope) have set clear priorities for the selection of pilot research projects. These priorities are (1) projects demonstrating exceptional translational science potential, (2) projects inclusive of vertical and horizontal collaborations between the 3 participating institutions, and (3) projects with maximum impact on the diverse communities serving—Virginia, South Carolina, and southern California. These pilot research projects may include basic research explorations using human samples, diagnostic or treatment clinical interventions in the form of clinical trials, or community-based prevention interventions. A major advantage of this 3-institution P20 TRACER collaborative is that it provides immediate access to distinct urban and rural regions with vastly different racial/ethnic compositions as well as cultural and environmental characteristics that likely contribute to the disparities reported in lung cancer (e.g., large African American/Black populations in Virginia and South Carolina and large Hispanic/LatinX and Asian populations in southern California, high rates of smoking in Virginia and South Carolina; high levels of air pollution in southern California). The DRP will provide direct and significant financial support for competitively selected pilot research projects and will provide these pilot project PIs or investigative teams with access to the expertise and resources of the TRACER-supported cores and an extraordinary list of other cutting-edge resources available within the 3 participating institutions. The leaders of the DRP will select and fund a minimum of 3 pilot research projects annually, and the projects’ progress will be carefully monitored by multi-levels of internal and external scientific and community advisors. The ultimate goal of the DRP is to establish a pipeline of research focused on the multi-dimensional causes of lung cancer disparities within the diverse populations served by the partnering institutions and to develop the preliminary data to support competitive research projects for a future, collaborative P50 SPORE application.