PHILADELPHIA (April 23, 2018) — Fox Chase Cancer Center is pleased to announce the awardees of the request for application (RFA) focused on translational clinical protocol development based on basic and preclinical research results. The grants were open to Fox Chase Cancer Center/Temple University member labs.
In an effort to formalize disease-based translational medicine efforts and enhance collaboration, translational research disease groups (TRDGs) were created with a multidisciplinary group of clinical and research-based faculty. TRDG’s focus is on coordinating an ongoing assessment of translational research opportunities – particularly through investigator-initiated trials, interdisciplinary collaboration, research support, and trainee involvement. The program supports cutting-edge projects that are potentially paradigm-shifting; possess a high likelihood to lead to significant peer-reviewed funding; address community needs; and/or translate laboratory findings into new clinical treatments.
“The most recent proposal request was intended to move laboratory research from our labs to clinical trials within a defined period of time, and to support the most promising concepts for this translation,” said Wafik El-Deiry, MD, PhD, FACP, deputy director for translational research at Fox Chase Cancer Center.
“The awarded projects were selected from a competitive field of proposals from within Fox Chase and the Temple University Health System, after an NIH-style review process,” said Attila Seyhan, PhD, director of translational medicine operations at Fox Chase Cancer Center.
The principal investigators for the 2018 translational awards are:
Margaret von Mehren, MD and Lori Rink, PhD, for their proposal, “Evaluation of Imatinib with ARQ092 alone or in combination with a PD-1 inhibitor in Advanced Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors.” The award is effective April 15, 2018, in the amount of $100,000.
Joshua Meyer, MD and Edna Cukierman, PhD, for their proposal, “Utilizing pulsed Low-dose-rate radiation to prevent radiation-induced stromal activation; a neoadjuvant pancreatic adenocarcinoma phase I trial.” The award is effective April 15, 2018, in the amount of $99,942.
Margie Clapper, PhD and Michael Hall, MD, for their proposal, “Prevention of Colorectal Adenomas in Patients with Lynch Syndrome using Atorvastatin and Aspirin: An Exploratory Biomarker Trial.” The award is effective April 15, 2018, in the amount of $100,000.
Yanis Boumber, MD, PhD and Suraj Peri, PhD, for their proposal, “Prospective clinical study of SCLC patients with NSD1, NSD2 mutations receiving platinum doublet chemotherapy.” The award is effective April 15, 2018, in the amount of $82,182.