Developmental Research Program

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The purpose of the Developmental Research Program is to promote the exploration of innovative ideas in translational research in lung cancer through the funding of pilot projects. Each year new pilot project applications are sought by the Developmental Research Committee, which is chaired by Dr. Bunn. Current committee members include Drs. Drabkin, Heasley, Franklin, Hirsch, Baron, and Keith. A request for application announcement is distributed to faculty at all consortium institutions of the University of Colorado Comprehensive Cancer Center (UCDHSC, CU-Boulder, Colorado State University, National Jewish Medical and Research Center, and The Children's Hospital). On average, 11 applications are received each year. The committee scores each application on its novelty, its likelihood of impacting the lung cancer burden through translational research, on its scientific merit, and on the qualifications of the investigators. The use of SPORE resources and the inclusion of collaborations with existing SPORE projects is also taken into consideration. Generally two applications are funded each year at a level of $50,000 each. Half of the support comes from SPORE funds and half comes from institutional funds. In some instances we have provided partial funding for worthy projects that could get started with more limited support. During the recent funding cycle we supported a total of 12 pilot projects. These projects and their outcomes are summarized in the following report. The success of our Developmental Research Program is demonstrated by the progression of a number of recent pilot projects into full SPORE projects. In this competitive renewal, Project 3 originated as a pilot project. As well, progress on the pilot projects of Dr. Heasley, of Dr. Meyer and of Drs. Solomon, Hansen and Duncan have been incorporated into the aims of Projects 2, 3 and 4, respectively. Pilot projects held by Drs. Nemenoff, Heasley, and Malkinson have led to current NCI R01s; the pilot project of Dr. Su has led to an NIH R21; and the pilot projects of Drs. Espinosa and Schiemann are incorporated into their NCI R01s. The research results from projects held by Drs. Franklin and Varella- Garcia were used to renew the NCI EDRN grant in 2005. As well, the Genetic Epidemiology Lung Cancer Consortium (GELCC) and the Lung Cancer Biomarkers & Chemoprevention Consortium (LCBCC) studies were also outcomes of SPORE pilot projects. Several other important lung cancer grants have been funded by other institutes and are described in this report.