Translational Cancer Biology and Signaling Program

TRANSLATIONAL CANCER BIOLOGY AND SIGNALING (TCBS) RESEARCH PROGRAM ABSTRACT The Translational Cancer Biology and Signaling (TCBS) Research Program at the University of New Mexico Cancer Center (UNMCC), led by Bridget Wilson, PhD and Eric Prossnitz, PhD, unites an outstanding team of 30 (25 full and 5 associate members) basic, translational, and clinical scientists from 3 University of New Mexico Schools and Colleges (School of Medicine, College of Pharmacy, College of Arts & Sciences) in 10 academic departments and from New Mexico?s two Department of Energy National Laboratories (Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories). Program science is centered on mechanistic, translational, and clinical studies of cancer biology, focused on imaging and modeling signal transduction pathways critical for cancer etiology and progression in solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. State-of-the-art methods are used to study the fundamental biology and function of established and novel cancer targets in cell signaling pathways, enhanced through collaborative interactions among many program members. The program?s goals are to accelerate the translation of our science to the design and conduct of investigator-initiated institutional and NCI NCTN-sponsored clinical trials as well as the design and conduct of embedded correlative science studies. The Specific Aims of the TCBS Program are to: 1) characterize, image, and model cell signaling pathways in normal and cancer cells, particularly focusing on normal and mutated cell surface receptors and their closely coupled signaling partners as well as intracellular trafficking and organelle-specific contributions to carcinogenesis; 2) investigate the contributions of cell-cell interactions and the microenvironment in cancer initiation, progression and metastasis; 3) define the roles of the immune response and linked inflammatory processes in both solid tumors and leukemia, with a focus on therapeutic antibody strategies; and 4) translate our discoveries to the development of therapeutic interventions against cell signaling targets and pathways, with integrated correlative science studies. During the prior funding period (from 2010 to 9/1/2014) of the UNMCC NCI P30 CCSG, TCBS Program members published 344 primary articles, book chapters and reviews including high impact journals such as the Nature journals, Immunity, PNAS and BLOOD. Collaboration is extensive, with 21% overall intra-programmatic publications (with annual percentages ranging from 17-28%). Almost a quarter of these publications were inter- programmatic (overall, 25%; range 17%-26%). In 2014, year to date, intra-programmatic publications are 28% while inter-programmatic publications are 21%. Funding to the TCBS Program (as of 9/1/14) is $9,159,653 in annual direct costs, of which $8,619,713 is peer-reviewed direct funding and $1,839,073 (20%) is from the NCI. A current portfolio of 30 clinical trials is led by clinician scientists in the Program, of which three are early phase investigator-initiated trials derived from Program science.