Developmental Funds

DEVELOPMENTAL FUNDS: ABSTRACT Developmental Funds are a vital tool used by the University of Arizona Cancer Center (UACC) to enrich the Center’s research mission, achieve its scientific goals in alignment with the Strategic Plan, and support novel, transdisciplinary research aimed at reducing the cancer burden in UACC’s five-county Catchment Area. UACC has implemented a rigorous process for allocation of Developmental Funds to ensure scientific impact and substantial return on investment (ROI). During the project period, UACC awarded $1.7M in CCSG Developmental Funds that resulted in $3.6M in cancer-related funding, plus 35 peer-reviewed publications, for a two-fold ROI. Additional UACC investments of $2M in support of strategic initiatives, such as imaging research and investigator-initiated clinical trials, yielded subsequent funding of $8M and 24 peer-reviewed publications. Thus UACC’s $3.7M investment in 75 pilot projects and other support resulted in additional funding of $11.6M during the project period for an overall three-fold ROI. In the future project period, UACC requests Developmental Funds to support high risk-high reward pilot projects aligned with the scientific priorities outlined in the Center’s 2020–2025 Strategic Plan. These include Cancer and the Environment, Novel Therapeutics and Preventive Interventions, and Cancer Imaging and Bioengineering. It is envisioned that these investments will lead to successful competition for external cancer-focused funding.