Developmental Research Program

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Emory University’s Lung Cancer SPORE aims to pursue new and innovative research opportunities in the lung cancer field through the implementation of the Developmental Research Program (DRP). The DRP will solicit, evaluate, and fund the most meritorious pilot projects, monitor progress twice annually, and promote the most successful pilot projects into full projects funded by the SPORE and/or other sources. The goals of the DRP are to identify and support meritorious proposals that might expand into full research projects focused on lung cancer in the future, including those of high risk-high reward projects that might otherwise not be funded; to foster collaborative research between Emory investigators and investigators at other institutions; and to enhance translational research in lung cancer by increasing the number of investigators working in this field. The Winship Cancer Institute (Winship) of Emory University has a strong track record in conducting successful pilot project programs. Through the Winship Invest$ program, Winship has awarded 165 pilot grants, with a total of over $7.7M in funding, since 2012. Our track record is illustrated by the DRP in Emory’s head and neck cancer SPORE (funded from 2006-2013) that awarded 17 pilot projects, which evolved into 15 full projects funded by NIH or foundations such as the American Cancer Society and the publication of 34 research articles and 4 review articles. Winship is also a recipient of the ‘Institutional Research Grant’ funded by the American Cancer Society that supports pilot research projects. Specific aims for the DRP are as follows: Aim 1: To solicit research proposals by sending request for proposals (RFP) to all possible applicants at Emory University and other research and medical institutions throughout the state of Georgia; Aim 2: To identify the most outstanding and novel proposals to fund through a clearly defined and well-established review process. Led by a DRP Committee, applications will be reviewed by a panel of leaders of all projects, cores/programs, and other researchers in relevant fields, following NIH review criteria; and Aim 3: To monitor the progress of funded peer-reviewed pilot projects using a series of metrics, including the evolution of projects into major projects (e.g., R01s, full SPORE projects), publications, investigator career development etc. We expect that annually 2 novel projects in basic, translational and clinical studies will be funded, and completion of these high-risk but innovative studies will result in strong publications, additional peer-reviewed grants and the development of a larger and stronger group of investigators focusing on the translational study of lung cancer.