Developmental Funds

Wistar Institute, Philadelphia PA

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

: Developmental Funds have continued to play a key role in the global reorganization of the Cancer Center that was initiated during the last CCSG budget period. Supported by a thorough, transparent and inclusive strategic planning process, the Cancer Center has undergone major changes in its administrative infrastructure, refinement of scientific and educational objectives, expansion of programmatic themes and global realignment of Shared Resources. A pivotal aspect of this reorganization was a focused and thematic faculty recruitment effort that led to the hiring of nine new Cancer Center members at all academic ranks and appointed across the three scientific Programs during the last budget period. Judiciously deployed as part of a flexible, inclusive and goal-oriented decision-making process, CCSG Developmental Funds have been instrumental to enable the long-range directives ofthe 2012 Cancer Center Strategic Plan, contributing to new faculty recruitment, facilitating inter-programmatic and collaborative pilot projects, supporting the launch of a new developmental Translational Research Management core, and expanding the collection of clinically annotated primary tumor samples for molecular validation studies, prognostic biomarker assessment and identification of new cancer targets. In this context, CCSG Developmental Funds have tangibly contributed to the sharp upward trajectory of the Cancer Center of the last budget period, reflected in significantly increased cancer focus, growth in NCI and cancer-related funding, expansion of inter- and intraprogrammatic collaborative publications, and launch of a portfolio of scientific initiatives along the continuum of basic, translational and patient-oriented cancer research. Building on these validated principles, CCSG Developmental Funds will continue to support the upward trajectory of the Cancer Center over the next budget period, supporting new faculty recruitment and expanding the Center-wide tools that have been put in place to enable translational and patient-oriented cancer research across all three scientific Programs.