Development

DEVELOPMENTAL FUNDS PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center (DLDCCC) uses developmental funds to support the Center’s strategic plan. From 2019 to 2023, funds derived from the CCSG ($100K/year) have been used to 17 Pilot Projects. The Executive Committee (EC) targeted each request for applications (RFA) to meet specific goals outlined in the DLDCCC strategic plan, including promoting high priority areas of research, fostering inter-programmatic collaborations, and addressing the cancer burden of our catchment area. The 17 scientific pilot projects supported with these developmental funds garnered a 20-fold return on investment based on new grant support. The DLDCCC also supported additional research initiatives with discretionary and philanthropic funds, including small pilots with the Center for Drug Discovery to screen for drugs to new targets and larger ($550-600K) three-year grants focused on basic science funded by the Helis Foundations. One Helis project led to a new program project award on clonal hemopoiesis. In our new strategic plan, Dr. Reddy increased investment by developing three new RFAs designed to support the development of major programmatic grants, clinical trials and new collaborations. We also used discretionary institutional developmental funds to support new recruits to the Cancer Center and provide protected time for our clinical investigators. In the next grant cycle, the DLDCCC again proposes to use Developmental Funds to support pilot projects to strengthen specific areas dictated by the Strategic Plan and to support recruitment and clinician investigators.