CSHL Cancer Center Support Grant

Abstract public domain (NIH RePORTER)

OVERALL – PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Cancer Center (CC) has conducted cancer research for more than fifty years and has been an NCI-designated basic laboratory cancer center since 1987. CSHL's initial focus on transforming viruses led to a series of paradigm-shifting discoveries related to chromosome replication, RNA splicing, oncogene and tumor suppressor functions, and signal transduction pathways. CSHL-CC researchers have applied these seminal advances towards the discovery of novel mechanisms of tumor development, progression, and therapy resistance, and in the process, they have generated innovative methods and models that have been disseminated worldwide. For the past nine years, CSHL-CC has been led by David Tuveson, M.D., Ph.D., a pre-eminent medical oncologist and scientist who has made transformative discoveries in pancreatic cancer and has held leadership roles in national organizations. The Center's fifty members are organized into three well-established Research Programs: Cancer Genetics and Genomics, Gene Regulation and Inheritance, and Cellular Communication in Cancer. Under the current strategic plan, CSHL-CC research has five cross-Programmatic themes: identifying molecular drivers of cancer, elucidating cancer heterogeneity, uncovering mechanisms of cancer physiology, using computational and quantitative biology approaches to study cancer, and developing preclinical therapeutics. Over the past five years, the Leadership team has evolved, giving new faculty advancement opportunities. Membership has increased through internal and external recruitment. The Shared Resources have been enhanced to meet member needs. Administration has added additional research management expertise. CSHL-CC External Advisory Board membership has been refreshed. Clinical translation of CSHL-CC discoveries has been enabled through a growing strategic partnership with Northwell Health. Finally, an education and research alliance has been launched with the University of Puerto Rico Comprehensive Cancer Center. CSHL-CC research is supported by ten Cancer Center Support Grant-approved Shared Resources that provide cost-effective access to cutting-edge technologies and facilitate education. Members are highly productive, as shown by an increase in NCI and cancer-relevant, peer-reviewed funding to $7.9M and $16.0M, respectively, during the project period. CSHL-CC members have authored 338 cancer-relevant publications, of which 49% are in journals with an impact factor above 10, 30% involve at least two CSHL-CC members, and 46% were collaborations with other NCI-designated cancer centers. During the next funding period, CSHL-CC will continue to pursue cancer discoveries while incorporating patient data, patient samples, and patient-derived models to further the translational impact of CSHL-CC research. The Center will also continue to partner strategically to foster education, translation, and Shared Resource technologies that advance paradigm-shifting and practice-changing cancer research locally, nationally, and around the globe.

Public health relevance public domain (NIH RePORTER)

OVERALL – NARRATIVE The mission of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Cancer Center is to unravel the fundamental mechanisms that govern the biology of cancer through collaborative research and technology development while training exceptional cancer scientists to become future leaders in the field. The Cancer Center achieves this by promoting collaborative interactions that help researchers make key discoveries about how cancers initiate, progress, and evade therapies. Through partnerships with hospitals and clinical sites, Cancer Center members are translating their findings into clinical applications that will improve the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cancer.