Research Project
8518888
DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Fox Chase Cancer Center is under new leadership since the last review and continues as one of the nation's few free standing comprehensive cancer centers. The Center's mission is To prevail over cancer, marshaling excellence of heart and mind each day in the collaborative practice of bold scientific discovery, prevention strategies, and compassionate cancer care. Our vision is to be an acknowledged national leader in cancer research and medicine and a pre-eminent cancer center in the Philadelphia area. The new leadership in conjunction with advice from External Advisory Boards has consolidated the CCSG Research Programs from 11 to 5. These five Programs represent the core scientific strengths of the Fox Chase Cancer Center. At the last review 30 CCSG Shared Facilities and 2 support elements (Protocol Review and Monitoring System and Protocol Specific Research) were approved for funding with recommendations to consolidate facilities. This proposal requests partial support for 16 core facilities and 2 support elements. Developmental Funds are requested to strategically increase critical mass for these 5 research Programs over the CCSG funding cycle. A plan is presented to recruit 21 to 30 new and replacement investigators. In the past CCSG cycle, 40 investigators were recruited and, with the exclusion of our 17 newest recruits, 19 of 23 (83%) have obtained $15.4 million in peer-reviewed funding within 24 months of their appointment. Of that amount $5.1 million was garnered by investigators who were partially supported by Developmental Funds. Since the last submission, the Cancer Research Pavilion was completed as planned in 2010 and will provide much of the needed space for new investigator laboratories. The Leadership's vision includes a plan to increase team-based science via strategic keystone investments. These institutional investments are intended to expand the research portfolio of FCCC to include more team-based grants such as Program Project Grants and SPOREs. Several team-based science grant proposals will be submitted over the next few years as a direct result of these keystone Investments. To meet the demand presented by a future increase in principal investigators, the Center plans to leverage $8 million of ARRA funds with $5.1 million of institutional investment to construct a Comparative Medical Facility (CMR). Since the last review, FCCC has implemented a formal review mechanism to evaluate and prioritize its CCSG Shared Research Resources. As a result, of this evaluation process, the number of Shared Research Resources has been streamlined.
