Cancer Center Support Grant

Abstract Overall The City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center (COHCCC) received NCI-designation in 1981 and Comprehensive status in 1998. Led by Steven T. Rosen, MD, the COHCCC is composed of 175 full Members, five productive Research Programs, eleven established Shared Resources and one developing Shared Resource, a robust cancer-focused research funding base (76% growth in NCI funding in the current funding cycle), and an active clinical trials portfolio that builds on institutional research discoveries. The COHCCC facilitates advances across the translational research continuum by providing infrastructure, strategic planning, administrative support, and mechanisms for transdisciplinary interactions that catalyze cancer-focused activities traversing basic discovery, clinical, and population-based investigations. These activities are aligned to reduce cancer burden of a highly populated and diverse Catchment Area of nearly 18 million people that encompasses 33,109 square miles and ranges from urban population centers concentrated in Los Angeles and Orange Counties to rural and frontier regions in eastern San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. To foster high-impact, transdisciplinary cancer-focused research, the COHCCC leverages a spectrum of state-of-the-art Shared Resources including in-house GMP manufacturing facilities; informatics and precision medicine resources; notable breadth and depth of in-house experience in conducting clinical trials; and a centralized administrative infrastructure. The COHCCC is also committed to developing and enhancing the diversity of the next generation of leaders in basic, clinical, and population-based cancer-related research through robust training initiatives that begin at K-12 outreach and continue through junior faculty development. To enhance cancer prevention, improve early detection, and accelerate translation of novel therapeutic approaches that impact patients across the lifespan and from diverse populations, the COHCCC will pursue the following Specific Aims: 1) Identify, develop, produce, and advance first-in-field and first-in-human new treatments; 2) Implement four strategic initiatives: advancing precision medicine, expanding cellular therapeutics, promoting health equity, and enhancing clinical research in the clinical network; 3) Assess and address the cancer burden in the COHCCC Catchment Area, promoting early detection, prevention, novel treatments, aging, and survivorship; 4) Advance training and educational initiatives to support the next generation of cancer-focused scientists and clinicians; 5) Enact concrete policies to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion in the COHCCC Membership and Leadership. During the next cycle, the COHCCC will expand on historic strengths and advance critical initiatives that will benefit the diverse population of the Catchment Area and the larger community of individuals at risk for or affected by cancer.