Cancer Center Support Grant

University Of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles CA

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

The NCI-designated UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC) resides in the most populous county in the US, with a mission to accelerate discoveries to prevent and cure cancer. The Center provides infrastructure, administration, resources, and mechanisms to foster collaborative, high impact, transdisciplinary research. The JCCC Director and Center, Institutional, and community leaders and members, three Advisory Boards, and two comprehensive Strategic Plans guide activities and tactics. Members, 259 strong, work to reduce the burden of cancer in the Los Angeles County (LAC) catchment area and beyond through impactful discovery research and translation. The JCCC supports three Basic/Translational, two Clinical/Translational, and one Population Science Research Programs, six Shared Resources, an extensive Clinical Research infrastructure, and COE and CRTEC units. Since 2019, members provided transformative discoveries in cancer epigenomics and metabolism, tumor origins, drug delivery and immune checkpoint inhibitor mechanisms, and more. Translational advances in cancer prevention included impactful studies on risk exposure, e-cigarettes, and obesity; in detection, liquid biopsies, and early screening for colorectal, lung and other cancers; in treatment, leadership or major roles in 12 practice changing FDA-approved therapeutics often in LAC priority cancers, targeted therapies, and immunotherapies; and in survivorship, new interventions for survivors and leadership in developing national guidelines. Membership grew 17.7%, cancer funding increased 18.2%, publications rose 5.6%, and treatment trial accruals increased 6.5%. Leadership in the University of California Cancer Consortium (UC-CC) delivered two bills signed into state law by the Governor, advancing access in cancer care throughout the state. Next funding period priorities target reducing the LAC cancer burden; providing discoveries that fuel translation; educating, training, and mentoring the next generation; and advancing excellence in workforce development and leadership. Select initiatives will build strength in trials enrollment, sarcoma biology, and immunotherapy. Precision oncology research will benefit from added investments in JCCC, campus, and UC-CC data science initiatives. An aspirational vision to eradicate cancer in LAC, the nation, and the world rallies members’ work on difficult but essential problems in cancer. With community partners, the JCCC will advance studies that define individual cancer risk to inform prevention, treatment, and foster survivorship; decode the initiation and evolution of cancer; understand individual cancers at unprecedented levels to improve treatment and outcomes; and harness the immune system to control and treat cancer. A new 2024 – 2028 Strategic Plan further elevates COE and CRTEC in Center structures and activities, including in the JCCC Oncology Clinical Trials Network, to increase access to clinical trials.