Coordinating Center for the Program on the Origins of Gastroesophageal Cancers

The Columbia Coordinating Center (CCC) will provide the necessary leadership, infrastructure, and oversight to support and fulfill the overarching goals of NCI’s Program on the Origins of Gastroesophageal Cancers (PGEC) and the six transdisciplinary R01 projects. The mission of the PGEC is to extend recent findings regarding molecular classifications and genomics of gastroesophageal cancers, examine and define how these cancers initially evolve at the cellular level, and compare and contrast the contributions and underlying mechanisms of tumor-initiating cells to risk and progression. Inadequate coordination, communication and access will create significant barriers to program success. The CCC will provide the leadership and organizational structure to facilitate and strengthen cross collaboration through trainings, meetings and working groups. The CCC will develop standardization and harmonization of data elements (e.g., track the cell of origin correctly) across research projects, enable the resolution of technical challenges, share models and resources, and advance the use of cutting-edge technologies. The CCC will facilitate equitable and FAIR (employing principles of findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability) access to in vivo and in vitro models, provide real time feedback on research objectives and allow for assessment of rigor and reproducibly. The CCC will provide training and support for early-stage investigators to conduct pilot work and engage in transdisciplinary research to build the next generation of scientists. Our CCC and the assembled Scientific Advisory Board brings together multidisciplinary scientists with necessary and diverse research, clinical, database and consortia experience to support these aims. This research team in conjunction with the many institutional resources at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) and New York Genome Center (NYGC) will be pivotal assets to program success. Specific Aim 1: Provide strong vision and scientific leadership to ensure the PGEC meets its programmatic goals. Sub-Aim 1A- training and development of junior investigators; and Sub-Aim 1B- monitoring research progress and to provide real time feedback that are actionable. Specific Aim 2: Provide administrative oversight and structure for the PGEC. Specific Aim 3: Coordinate and organize meetings and conferences. Specific Aim 4: Build and maintain a data commons and portal for the program. Impact: The CCC will provide strong leadership with an experienced and multidisciplinary team and an organizational structure for all PGEC activities to facilitate resource sharing that will expedite productivity, collaboration, and ultimately impact to better understand and prevent GE cancer morbidity and mortality. Further integration with other long-standing resources and training programs are additional important deliverables.