Developmental Funds

PROJECT SUMMARY DEVELOPMENTAL FUNDS The overall mission of The Jackson Laboratory Cancer Center (JAXCC) is to bring genomic solutions to cancer medicine. Our basic research goal is to tackle the question of “Genetics and Genomics of Aging and Cancer”, while our translational intent is to contribute new concepts, technologies, and clinical education initiatives originating from basic science to advance precision cancer medicine. These efforts are bolstered by Developmental Funds which are a critical source of support to achieve the JAXCC's strategic priorities. Developmental Funds are used to shape the future membership of the JAXCC, seed future research directions, accelerate completion of ongoing work, and stimulate transdisciplinary collaborations among the JAXCC members as well as externally. To this end, Developmental Funds support two award programs: New Investigator and Pilot Awards. New Investigator funds are an integral piece of the overall strategy for supporting early career JAXCC members as they establish their research programs, engaging them with the Senior Leadership from the start in setting their goals and planning their research approaches. Pilot project funds are an effective tool to encourage research aimed at strategic priorities of the Cancer Center, as well as a key support mechanism for collaborative projects to explore novel research approaches, generate new models, and work with Shared Resources to develop and scale technological innovations. The Pilot Awards are invaluable vehicles for early-stage studies that generate proof-of-principle and preliminary data and for finalizing data sets needed for larger, externally funded collaborative grants. Going forward, we will continue using Developmental Funds to support the recruitment of new faculty to the JAXCC Research Program on the genetics and genomics of aging and cancer (Aim 1); and to provide pilot funding to pursue innovative, high-risk ideas and stimulate research in aging and cancer (Aim 2).