Cancer Center Support Grant - UT Southwestern Medical Center



 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The University of Texas Southwestern Simmons Cancer Center is submitting this competitive renewal application for a Cancer Center Support Grant, Years 6-10. The Simmons Cancer Center is organized as a matrix center that integrates cancer research, clinical cancer care, and cancer control outreach across the University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW) Medical Center and its affiliated hospital systems, UTSW Health System, Parkland Health and Hospital System, Children's Medical Center of Dallas, and UTSW Moncrief Cancer Institute in Fort Worth. A research affiliation with the Dallas Regional Campus of the University of Texas School of Public Health, an MPH and PhD granting program located on the UTSW campus, brings public health expertise and training opportunities into the center. The overriding mission of the Simmons Cancer Center is to leverage these affiliations to create new knowledge to improve cancer outcomes in Dallas, North Texas, and the nation. The 164 members of the Simmons Cancer Center are organized into five scientific programs- Development and Cancer, Cancer Cell Networks, Chemistry and Cancer, Experimental Therapeutics of Cancer, and Population Science and Cancer Control. These programs are highly interactive, with 22 multi-investigator grants awarded and a 52% collaborative publication ratio over the past grant period. Funds are requested in the application for Senior Leaders and Program Leaders, Planning and Evaluation, Developmental Funds, Administration, Early Phase Clinical Research Support, Protocol Review and Monitoring System, Clinical Protocol and Data Management, and six shared resources including two in a research design and data analytics grouping (biostatistics, bioinformatics); and four in a translational grouping (high throughput screening, small animal imaging, live cell imaging, and tissue management). CCSG support for these components is supplemented by institutional funds to ensure that the center has the infrastructure required to achieve its mission. In addition, the Simmons Cancer Center has created dynamic educational and training opportunities designed to equip a new generation of scientists, physicians, and other health care providers to make a difference in cancer discovery, clinical care, and control. The Simmons Cancer Center integrates cancer research, clinical cancer care, and cancer control outreach across the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and its affiliated hospital systems. The overriding mission of the center is to leverage these affiliations and the exceptional resources available to improve cancer outcomes in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) region and the nation.