Developmental Research Program

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As described in the Leadership and Administration Core, an interdisciplinary group of senior leaders is available to interact with each other on a variety of substantive committees - two of which serve to evaluate developmental research studies and guide decision making on the use of stored specimens or the collecfion of prospective specimens needed to conduct these studies. In this section of the SPORE proposal we describe the allocafion of SPORE resources to DRP projects. There are four kinds of SPORE resources: funding to support the research costs of developmental studies, access to stored specimens for use in developmental studies, access to a pafient population with the potenfial to collect prospective specimens to support developmental studies, and data describing prior characterizafion of banked annotated specimens. In recognifion of rapidly changing technology and new and novel applications of such technology for research, approximately $176,000 in total costs will be available per year in the Developmental Research Program (DRP) budget. Matching insfitufional funds from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC) will be available at the discrefion ofthe PI for outstanding ovarian SPORE developmental research projects that address SPORE priorifies in risk assessment and early detecfion, immunotherapy, molecular signatures, and development of novel treatments of ovarian cancer (see FHCRC letter of institufional commitment). Through early detecfion we hope to improve outcomes significanfiy, because 1) currently available treatments are more effective in disease confined to the ovary, and 2) we will develop novel, relatively non-toxic treatments that will be particularly effective in early-stage disease. The tools of molecular biology, immunology and immunotherapy are emphasized in the translational research program. The POCRC is a communitybased, mulfidisciplinary, translafional research program that involves clinicians, laboratory scienfists and public health scientists from several research and medical insfitufions in the region. The broad based approach takes full advantage ofthe scientific expertise available locally and allows the pooling of clinical resources, thus facilitafing population-based studies despite the low incidence of ovarian cancer. Applications will be solicited annually for use of these funds, and each applicafion will be reviewed for its scientific merit and its resource needs including access to specimens. This secfion of the SPORE application oufiines the POCRC's system for evaluafion of developmental research study applicafions and progress. It also includes a summary report on previously funded or on-going projects, as well as several examples of projects that might be inifiated next year if funding is available. Dr. Martin Mcintosh, program leader, will oversee this program and the Executive Committee will evaluate the progress ofthe funded developmental research studies. This program has, and will continue to be, flexible in nature and funding priorities will change according to scientific needs ofthe overall program. Excifing laboratory science with translafional potenfial is a high priority. DRP applicafions should be designed to develop within a couple years into full-scale translafional research projects suitable for a SPORE or ROI applicafion. As collaboration between a laboratory, clinical and/or public health scienfist greafiy facilitates translational research, DRP projects are usually co-directed by an interdisciplinary team of two invesfigators. Inclusion of a POCRC/SPORE investigator as a co-director facilitates integrafion with SPORE themes and appropriate use of the SPORE core resources. Since 1999, the POCRC DRP has funded 29 developmental research proposals with approximately $1.5 million in total funding support. A total of 66 applications have been reviewed, for a funding rate of 44%. We vvill continue to use the current peer-review process to select new projects to be supported by SPORE resources, as it has been very successful.. SPORE funds have been awarded to highly meritorious applicants proposing studies that complement on-going POCRC projects and meet translafional research criteria each year. Six of the DRP awards have led to new projects (Projects 4 and 5) or new roles in the next funding period for an invesfigator (Tewari, Swisher, Salazar, and Knudsen). DRP funds have been used to grow new scientific projects and project leaders in the current SPORE award and in this applicafion, as can be seen in Table 1. The process that is in place will be used during the next funding period, as described below.