UCLA Tumor Immunology Institutional Training Grant

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PROJECT SUMMARY Despite decades of research, and the ravages of a recent global viral pandemic, cancer will unfortunately remain the Number One killer of adults under 85. Thus, there is a substantial need for new therapies based on mechanisms that the non-malignant cellular microenvironment uses to prevent and control cancer. In direct response to this need, our A1-revised competitive renewal application seeks to continue the highly successful, multidisciplinary UCLA Tumor Immunology Training Program (UCLA TITP). The TITP, as the sole training vehicle at UCLA that integrates oncology with immunology, aims to provide comprehensive, interdisciplinary training to graduate students and post-doctoral fellows at the cancer-immune system interface to foster immune approaches that prevent and control cancer. An equally important aim is to prepare a well-trained and highly diverse cohort of experts using augmented professional development activities for productive careers in a rapidly evolving job market as leaders in academic and commercial tumor immunology. It is an extraordinary time in oncology as advances in tumor immunology are leading progress against intractable cancers, with cell engineering, immune checkpoint inhibition, gene editing, computational biology, machine learning/AI, and multiple interdisciplinary approaches at the cutting-edge. The TITP has superb institutional synergies with the NCI-designated Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC), the UCLA Clinical Science Translational Institute (CTSI), the UCLA Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI), the Graduate Programs in Bioscience (GPB), the UCLA-Caltech Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP), and other exceptional campus research centers. The program Co-Directors and Associate Director have outstanding records of research productivity and trainee mentoring. TITP recruits trainees from a large, unique and diverse pool with emphasis placed on research integrity training, mentoring, and outreach to enhance underrepresented scientist participation. We propose to support eight trainees (four pre- and four post-docs, up to three years, with strong progress) in a structured program supervised by highly productive faculty. For this period, with an updated mentor corps, training focuses in three high-priority tracts: Cancer Immunotherapy, Immuno-Oncology, and Tumor Microenvironment. About 90% of past trainees continue cancer research careers in academia or industry. TITP leaders, a preeminent refreshed EAB, and four internal Program Advisors perform ongoing rigorous evaluations with input from trainees/faculty to strengthen the program. A key required element is a pre- and post-doc curriculum that builds knowledge in basic, translational, and clinical tumor immunology research. Other strong components include a monthly Research-in-Progress seminar series, annually updated Individual Development Plans (IDPs), an annual (typically summertime) Program Retreat, and major campus symposia on cancer and immunology. Altogether, the TITP infrastructure supports an exciting, coherent, interactive program that uniquely educates graduate and post-doctoral trainees in tumor immunology at UCLA.