Cell and Molecular Biology Research Program

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY PROGRAM The Cell and Molecular Biology (CMB) Program of Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University (Winship) conducts highly innovative basic and translational research with a strong focus on catchment area priorities. Formed in 2019 by restructuring the previous Cancer Genetics and Epigenetics (CGE) and Cancer Cell Biology (CCB) programs into one research program, the scientific themes of CMB are: (1) Cancer Cell Metabolism aims to unravel the molecular mechanisms underlying metabolic alterations in cancer cells to exploit for novel therapeutic interventions; (2) Cell Survival and Death Mechanisms aims to understand the mechanisms by which cancer cells evade cell death and to identify novel therapeutic approaches to promote cell death; (3) Mechanisms of Invasion and Metastasis aims to identify the key mediators of tumor growth and metastasis, and discover mechanisms that drive tumor cell adhesion, communication, invasion, and metastasis, and; (4) Gene Regulation aims to decipher the basic mechanisms by which genetic or epigenetic influences regulate gene expression and contribute to oncogenesis. CMB leaders foster a rich research training environment contributing to the promotion of biomedical scientific careers in underrepresented groups from middle school through college. CMB maintains research focus on Winship’s catchment area priorities through strong engagement with Community Outreach and Engagement (COE). Under the leadership of Wei Zhou, PhD (leader) and C.K. Qu, MD, PhD (co-leader), the new CMB Program includes 46 core members representing 16 departments within the School of Medicine (SOM), School of Public Health, and College of Arts and Sciences. This highly collaborative group of researchers have published a total 317 cancer-relevant scientific articles during the current funding period with 42 (13%) intra- and 139 (44%) inter-programmatic, 234 (74%) inter-institutional collaborations, and 94 (30%) published in journals with an impact factor ≥10. As of December 31, 2021, CMB members held $10.0 million (direct) in annual cancer-relevant research funding, of which $9.4 million is peer-reviewed with $4.5 million (47%) from the NCI. Notable accomplishments during the funding cycle include 21 new R01 grants (11 NCI) that have developed into impactful CMB scientific contributions including: i) lestaurtinib as a new MAST-1 inhibitor, ii) innovative “leader cell” identification for anti-metastasis target discovery and iii) advancement of pilot grant funded basic research with a novel Drosophila glioma model to a phase I/II clinical trial, and iv) pre-clinical development of the MCL1 inhibitor AZD5991 leading to first-in-human clinical trial at Winship. CMB has greatly benefited from Winship’s shared resources, infrastructure for basic and translational research, $2.1 million in pilot grant support during the present funding period, and engaging team science environment with CMB member leadership in P50 Lung SPORE and new P01 (May 2022) for research on LKB1- mutated lung cancer. CMB is poised to make transformational contributions through understanding cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying cancer and drive novel therapeutic approaches.