Development of New Technologies at Roswell Park to Further Cancer-Based Research and Treatment Through Genome Modification

Abstract The current application seeks salary support for Aimee Stablewski, PhD who serves as the Director of the Gene Targeting and Transgenic Shared Resource (GeTT) of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center (Roswell Park). This position was created in 1999 to oversee the research applications of the various genome editing platforms available in the resource and to apply her extensive experience in these areas in collaborations and consultations with the GeTT investigator user base. With over 25 years of experience in research applications of the creation of genetically modified animals and cells (23 years at Roswell Park), Dr. Stablewski throughout her career has collaborated with many investigators at the Cancer Center on NIH funded projects. The GeTT is an integral part of Roswell Park's Cancer Center Support grant (P30CA016056) for which the cancer center Director, Dr. Johnson, serves as the Principal Investigator. All three CCSG programs (Developmental Therapeutics (DT), Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy (TII) and Cancer Stress Biology (CSB) equally make up the user base of the GeTT; and numerous NIH-funded researchers in these programs actively collaborate and consult with Dr. Stablewski. Dr. Stablewski' s contributions to Roswell Parks research enterprise have been significant and impactful specifically with regards to the NIH-funded research of the members of the TII program. As of September 2022, there are thirty-nine grant applications that cited use of the GeTT shared resources. There were twenty-six NIH/ NCI, two DOD, and the remaining applications include private and public funding sponsors, eleven of whom were TII Program members, fourteen are CSB members and nine are DT members. The cancer center has also made significant investments in the GeTT with regards to advancing technology in genetic modifications. With the changes in the R50 program now making the distinction between Laboratory (PAR-20-288) and Core (PAR-20-287) based scientists and with the GeTT being an integral part of the Roswell Park CCSG infrastructure, Dr. Johnson as the PI of the CCSG grant, will now serve as the Unit Director for the application.