Developmental Funds

Emory University, Atlanta GA

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT DEVELOPMENTAL FUNDS Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University (Winship) utilizes CCSG developmental funds in combination with philanthropic and institutional funds to drive strategic priorities and foster innovative cancer research. During the current cycle, funds were utilized to support two developmental shared resources: the Winship Data and Technology Applications Shared Resource (Data SR) and the Intervention Development, Dissemination, and Implementation Shared Resource (Dissemination SR). Both have advanced to full shared resources in this application. Funds were also used to support the Winship Invest$ pilot grant program. Winship Invest$ follows bi-annual funding cycles and a standardized peer-review process. A custom technology platform is utilized to manage the pilot grant program. This platform is integrated with the Winship administrative database and integrates funding, outcomes, and membership data. It is also used to manage documents, member surveys, and the review process. Winship Administration has established post-award processes to monitor funds and provide reports for leadership evaluation of program effectiveness. During the current funding period, CCSG developmental funds ($900,000) were awarded to 15 pilot projects and resulted in receipt of $2.6 million of external funding to date. CCSG funded awards from prior period (2013-2017, 24 awards, $778,000) resulted in $14.4 million external funding with average time of 30 months to first funding after award start date. Similar growth is anticipated for pilot funds from the current funding period. Winship also distributed $5.1 million in philanthropic, institutional, and other peer-reviewed funds during the reporting period for a total of $6 million allocated to 122 pilot awards and leading to $16.4 million in external funding. Findings from CCSG-funded research have been disseminated in high impact journals such as Nature, Nature Cancer, Nature Communications, and Journal of Clinical Oncology. Winship developmental funds have resulted in other noteworthy outcomes, such as the advancement of multidisciplinary team science research, career development for junior investigators, health disparities research, and performance of investigator-initiated clinical research. This competitive renewal requests developmental funds for continued support of Winship Invest$ with plans to fund 15-20 pilot grants with award amounts of $50,000 to $100,000 each. To build a pipeline of clinical trials development expertise, Winship also plans to fund one early-stage clinical investigator award per year with each award providing two years of support. Developmental funds in combination with institutional and philanthropic funds are a critical resource for the Executive Director and the leadership team to strategically support innovative research ideas and develop new research themes. These funds will enable Winship to continue its growth as a transformative leader integrating cancer research, education, care, and community impact to achieve its mission.