Cancer Basic Biology

PROJECT SUMMARY The Cancer Basic Biology (CBB) Program aims to develop fundamental new insights into the biological basis of human cancer, and to apply these insights by developing new tools and approaches to improve cancer diagnosis, therapy, and prevention. The CBB Program is the fundamental biology program of the Consortium. Our ultimate purpose is to stimulate interdisciplinary, cancer-relevant, fundamental research and develop technologies to advance capabilities in precision medicine diagnostics and therapy. Our strong record of discovery in structural, molecular, cellular, developmental, and systems biology provides mechanistic underpinning for translational cancer research across the Consortium. Our technological innovations provide the tools to understand the genetic, epigenetic, and functional changes underlying cancer and to develop creative diagnostics and therapeutics for precision medicine. To build on our legacy, we have three specific aims to 1) define fundamental mechanisms that drive normal and cancer biology, 2) understand epigenomic and genomic control of normal and cancer phenotypes, and 3) develop new tools to accelerate cancer biology research. The program’s 123 members are distributed over all three Consortium institutions, providing integration across the Consortium. Our research spans the spectrum from hypothesis-driven, mechanistic analysis, through to the detection and description of cancer-induced changes in the genome, epigenome, transcriptome, proteome, and metabolome, as well as the rational design of molecules and experimental workflows to manipulate cells and understand the molecular and cellular basis of cancer. Insights from these fundamental discoveries advance development of new cancer diagnostics and therapeutics. Program members currently have $37.4M in research funding, of which $7.6M is from NCI and $14.5M is from NIH. During this cycle, members published 836 cancer-relevant papers, of which 16% were intraprogrammatic and 22% were interprogrammatic. To promote collaborative science, the program leadership also spans the three Consortium institutions with expertise in basic and translational cancer biology. Our members are active in training and mentoring, including holding leadership positions in prebaccalaureate and predoctoral training programs, and connect with underserved populations in the catchment area through pilot projects and outreach programs. Program leadership works with Consortium Shared Resources to ensure support for state-of-the-art investigation. Program trainees participate in pan- institutional events and symposia designed to expose basic scientists to cancer problems and encourage them to apply their skills to collaborative projects.