Developmental Funds

描述

Description A. Recruitment Developmental funds to support the recruitment of new investigators to the IUSCC will be critical in the next funding cycle to accomplish our strategic plan of the Center. During the current funding cycle, developmental funds were used to support the growth of research programs through targeted faculty recruitments. Investigators were recruited to all four IUSCC programs (Cancer Control, Hematopoiesis, Microenvironment and Immunology, Breast Cancer, and Experimental and Developmental Therapeutics) to accomplish the strategic objectives of the Center which had been identified as needing to increase our Gl, breast, epidemiology, lung cancer, and hematopoiesis faculty as well as cancer control members. Eighteen faculty members were successfully recruited with primary appointments in eight departments. Of these, ten now hold peer reviewed federal cancer research grants. All recruitment objectives discussed in the previous CCSG application were addressed (behavioral science and basic science focused on Gl and ovarian cancers). Future recruiting efforts in the upcoming grant cycle will be targeted toward expanding our Breast Cancer, Cancer Control and EOT Programs as well as the developing programs Molecular and Environmental Carcinogenesis and Tumor Microenvironment, outlined in the IUSCC Strategic Plan. CCSG funds are often a critical component of the packages that we use to recruit top candidates and provide the Cancer Center Director with real input into the recruitment of top cancer investigators into the institution. B. Pilot Projects: Developmental funds are also pivotally important for support of pilot research projects. Until September 2006, the IUSCC allocated pilot project funds by internal review of applications responding to specific RFA's. These RFA's could target a specific cancer type or research program. Some required collaboration with members of the Purdue Cancer Center and were jointly funded by both Centers. Review criteria included scientific relevance, collaboration and potential for future peer-reviewed funding. The IUSCC supported nineteen such projects, which are shown in Table 1 later in this section. Traditional use of funds for pilot funding of IUSCC projects changed dramatically when in September 2006, IUSCC Senior Leaders began a new and innovative approach for the allocation of pilot research funds.