UCLA SPORE IN LUNG CANCER

University Of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles CA

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

The UCLA Lung Cancer SPORE is a multidisciplinary and translational research program addressing critical questions in a broad-based effort to understand the biology of lung cancer and develop more effective methods for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. The SPORE utilizes the broad range of expertise in translational lung cancer research that is resident in the UCLA academic community. It also builds upon existing resources available through the UCLA School of Medicine, the UCLA HealthCare System, the NCIdesignated Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC) and a wide range of NIH and institutionallyfunded grants, centers and training programs. Currently in its fifth year, the UCLA Lung Cancer SPORE continues to organize these resources into an integrated program and fosters a collaborative approach to address three broad themes. While these themes remain unmodified from our original proposal, we have changed several important elements of our program to take advantage of new developments in our own translational research as well as the rapidly developing findings in the field. The first theme seeks to define persons at risk and to apply leading technology to develop improved methods for accurate and early detection. These problems are addressed in Project I, in developmental projects and in inter-SPORE collaborations. The second major theme seeks to discover new basic principles in lung cancer biology with the specific intent of translating these findings into new biological therapies for lung cancer. This theme is addressed in Projects II, III, IV, and V, and supported by a Clinical Trials Core. Pathology, Imaging and Proteomics Cores will act as additional important resources to support this translational research. Importantly, in the third theme the UCLA SPORE places an emphasis on career development and future discovery as a means to foster new approaches for assessing and treating lung cancer. This theme is addressed by the Career Development and Developmental Research Programs. The theme of future discovery is also facilitated by our extensive inter-institutional collaborations in lung cancer. The UCLA Lung Cancer SPORE addresses these themes by utilizing the following operational concepts. Our research program is: 1) translational, 2) collaborative, 3) career development- focused, 4) flexible and 5) patientoriented. The five major Projects that form the central elements of the UCLA SPORE have been selected because they collectively cover a broad range of critical topics in lung cancer research and have a high likelihood of making a significant impact on the problem of lung cancer. Each of the major Projects represents the efforts of multidisciplinary investigative teams led by Project leaders who are identified as leaders in their respective fields. Each project is led jointly by laboratory based and clinical investigators with the highest priority placed on translational investigations.