Project 01: Cancer Biology (CB)

PROJECT SUMMARY – CANCER BIOLOGY (CB) The Cancer Biology (CB) Program at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center (OSUCCC), led by Matthew Ringel, MD, and Philip Tsichlis, MD, has 56 members from 21 Departments and 5 OSU Colleges (Arts & Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, Public Health, and Veterinary Medicine). CB investigators focus on three thematic scientific areas of focus: 1) Defining the roles of non-coding RNAs, gene mutations, and regulation of gene expression in cancer development and progression; 2) Determining new mechanisms of altered cancer cell signal transduction and DNA damage repair responses, and responses to therapeutic challenges; and 3) integrating cancer biology into complex model systems, computational biology, and human tissues to study mechanisms of cancer progression. The overall vision of the CB Program is to exploit the fundamental mechanistic knowledge gained in these areas of strategic emphasis to improve cancer prevention, treatment, and outcomes through collaborations. The Specific Aims of the CB Program focus on: 1) Mechanisms of cancer initiation. Studies focus on identification and characterization of mutations, epigenetic changes, and the expression and function of coding and non-coding genes. The goal will be to discover novel mechanisms of cancer predisposition and initiation, with an emphasis on translation; 2) Mechanisms and markers of response and resistance to therapeutic and environmental challenges. Research focuses on cancer responses to radiation and chemotherapy/targeted therapy with emphasis on signaling, DNA damage and the response to hypoxia and anti-tumor immunity; and, 3) Mechanisms of cancer progression. Studies focus on the identification of potentially targetable mechanisms that regulate tumor progression and metastasis. CB Program members published 645 cancer-relevant manuscripts between 12/01/14 and 11/30/19. Of these, 10% were intra- programmatic (multiple authors from CC Program), 25% were inter-programmatic (authors from multiple OSUCCC Programs), and 73% were multi-institutional (authors from both CB and another institution). The total collaborative publications is 81%. CB Program funding stands at $8.0M in overall direct, cancer-focused funding, of which $7.7M is peer-reviewed, including $6.7M direct funding from NIH ($5.1M from NCI). Over the last 5 years, CB Program members have accrued 1,522 participants to non-therapeutic/non-interventional trials comprised of investigator-driven IRB-approved biospecimen repositories. As a basic science program, CB is designed for member involvement in therapeutic trials through inter-programmatic collaboration. Future plans for the CB Program include innovation and growth in cancer immunology, translational genomics leveraging inter-institutional resources such as ORIEN, and identification of new targets, the development and growth of the cancer engineering research, and for cancer prevention by increasing basic science studies for the development of cancer and genetic predispositions.