Developmental Research Program 1

The goal of the Lymphoma SPORE Developmental Research Program (DRP) is to support innovative translational research projects that may in the future develop into full projects. To achieve this objective, the DRP will solicit submission of novel projects with translational potential in lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The program will be led by directors Drs. Malcolm Brenner and Margaret Goodell, who continue as DRP leaders, and new co-leader Dr George Carrum who brings with him clinical expertise and a commitment to publicizing DRP opportunities to clinicians caring for lymphoma patients. Candidate projects will be reviewed by a panel with expertise in translational research and the most promising proposals will be selected for support. Our goal for each supported project is that it will either develop into a full SPORE project or secure peer-reviewed funding as an independent project. We will continue to achieve this goal by fully incorporating the leaders of developmental projects into the SPORE, enabling them to take advantage of the expertise of SPORE investigators in translating their project from the bench to bedside. In the last four years, our Lymphoma SPORE DRP has supported a broad portfolio of 9 projects by investigators from five different Departments and Centers within Baylor College of Medicine as well as other institutions in the Texas Medical Center (one award to Texas A&M and one to Rice University) and nationally (one award to Moffitt Cancer Center). These investigators have led the nine DRP projects supported in most recent funding period and have already been leveraged to obtain $8.65 million in peer-reviewed funding from an initial investment of $450,000. Long-term follow up of the 28 projects funded in the first two cycles of our SPORE shows 46 publications that have been cited over 4,300 times and over $18.4 million dollars in peer-reviewed funding from an investment of $1.4 million through our DRP. In collaboration with the Administrative Core, the DRP directors will continue to use this program to test and develop novel strategies for the treatment of lymphoma and CLL, and will also collect data to evaluate the success of the DRP program, including seeking the feedback and advice of our internal and external advisory boards.