Developmental Research Program

University Of Hawaii At Manoa, Honolulu HI

Investigators

Abstract

The University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center (UHCC) is the only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific. The Center's mission is to reduce the burden of cancer through research, outreach, education and patient care with an emphasis on the unique populations and cultural and environmental characteristics of Hawai`i and the Pacific. In alignment with this mission, the Developmental Research Program (DRP) will draw upon areas of unique opportunity at UHCC to foster research that will improve our biological understanding of population differences in cancer risk and outcomes in our catchment area and translate our findings into therapeutic, behavioral, and diagnostic clinical trials and interventions that address these challenges. The DRP is a central element of the P50 for developing new translational research projects that will nurture new lines of investigation, research innovation, and collaboration. The funded pilot projects will provide important preliminary data for future large research project applications and support their feasibility and impact. Also, DRP studies with translational research potential may become full SPORE projects if the DRP study incorporates a human endpoint within one of the project aims. Therefore, the DRP will be an engine for innovation in translational research at UHCC. As such we have integrated its activities closely with the leadership of the P50 and that of the UHCC. Here we describe the process by which pilot projects will be solicited, reviewed, awarded, and monitored. The goal of the DRP is to identify and fund 10 new research projects and collaborations over five years that address population differences in cancer risk or outcomes in UHCC's catchment area. In support of this goal, the DRP coordinate pilot funding requests, reviews, and award activities and identify areas of unique opportunity and potential collaborations. UHCC is poised to make seminal contributions to understanding and alleviating the burden of cancer in our catchment area through strategic translational research. The DRP will proactively take advantage of these advantages to foster creative work that will translate into therapeutic, behavioral, and diagnostic clinical trials and interventions that directly impact our catchment area. These projects will form the basis for the continued success of this SPORE and expand its impact by fostering the development of new research topics.