Decades of research on basic immunology and the interactions of tumors and the immune system have led over the past few years to an explosive increase in the successes of immunotherapeutic modalities in cancer. The objective of the Inflammation, Immunology, and Immunotherapeutics (III) Program is to build on and to accelerate those successes by developing novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of leukemia/lymphoma and solid tumors, and to understand and exploit the basic biology of the immune system's responses to cancers. The emphasis is on antibody and T-cell mediated therapy in preclinical models and clinical translation studies. The Tumor Immunology Program has been a component of the Cancer Center since its inception and in 2012, it merged with the Virology Program to become the III Program. It is currently led by Casey T. Weaver, M.D. (Pathology), and Donald J. Buchsbaum, Ph.D. (Radiation Oncology), and has 40 primary faculty members from seven departments. The Program has $11,611,410 in annual direct grant support of cancer relevant research including $756,267 from NCI, $9,592,968 from other NIH Institutes, $289,001 from other peer-reviewed awards, and $973,174 in non-peer-reviewed support. The Program has two major areas of emphasis: (1) development of targeted immunotherapy utilizing antibody specificity to deliver apoptotic stimuli, drugs, or radioactive isotopes to tumors in animal models and human cancer; and (2) exploration of basic immunobiology research in the areas of inflammation and T- and B-cell immunology to translate into immunodiagnostic and immunotherapeutic modalities. The Program has major collaborations with the Experimental Therapeutics and Cancer Cell Biology Programs, and HudsonAlpha including individual projects in the Breast Cancer and Pancreatic Cancer SPOREs. During the previous funding period there were 310 total publications, of which 72 (23%) were intra-programmatic, 69 (22%) inter-programmatic, and 161 (52%) inter-institutional.

Public Health Relevance

OVERALL COMPONENT PROJECT NARRATIVE The UAB CCC has made a significant contribution to public health that is particularly relevant to the populations served by this Cancer Center who are located in the heart of the Deep South. Our research programs, in addition to their important contributions to translational science, have focused on the unique problems seen in African American populations that include higher incidences and mortality rates from certain cancers, lower age appropriate screening rates, greater obesity from poor diets and less physical activity, greater tobacco use, and lack of access to care.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Type
Center Core Grants (P30)
Project #
3P30CA013148-44S2
Application #
9266003
Study Section
Subcommittee I - Transistion to Independence (NCI)
Program Officer
Belin, Precilla L
Project Start
1997-03-28
Project End
2021-03-31
Budget Start
2016-04-06
Budget End
2017-03-31
Support Year
44
Fiscal Year
2016
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Alabama Birmingham
Department
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
063690705
City
Birmingham
State
AL
Country
United States
Zip Code
35294
Prince, Andrew C; Moore, Lindsay S; Tipirneni, Kiranya E et al. (2018) Evaluation of optical imaging agents in a fluorescence-guided surgical model of head and neck cancer. Surg Oncol 27:225-230
Gangrade, Abhishek; Pathak, Vibha; Augelli-Szafran, Corinne E et al. (2018) Preferential Inhibition of Wnt/?-Catenin Signaling by Novel Benzimidazole Compounds in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer. Int J Mol Sci 19:
Buford, Thomas W; Carter, Christy S; VanDerPol, William J et al. (2018) Composition and richness of the serum microbiome differ by age and link to systemic inflammation. Geroscience 40:257-268
Kim, Harrison (2018) Variability in Quantitative DCE-MRI: Sources and Solutions. J Nat Sci 4:
Frugé, Andrew D; Van der Pol, William; Rogers, Laura Q et al. (2018) Fecal Akkermansia muciniphila Is Associated with Body Composition and Microbiota Diversity in Overweight and Obese Women with Breast Cancer Participating in a Presurgical Weight Loss Trial. J Acad Nutr Diet :
Pruitt, Hawley C; Metge, Brandon J; Weeks, Shannon E et al. (2018) Conditional knockout of N-Myc and STAT interactor disrupts normal mammary development and enhances metastatic ability of mammary tumors. Oncogene 37:1610-1623
Boitano, Teresa K L; Smith, Haller J; Rushton, Tullia et al. (2018) Impact of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocol on gastrointestinal function in gynecologic oncology patients undergoing laparotomy. Gynecol Oncol 151:282-286
Jo, SeongHo; Chen, Junqin; Xu, Guanlan et al. (2018) miR-204 Controls Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 Receptor Expression and Agonist Function. Diabetes 67:256-264
Crenshaw, Brennetta J; Gu, Linlin; Sims, Brian et al. (2018) Exosome Biogenesis and Biological Function in Response to Viral Infections. Open Virol J 12:134-148
Frugé, Andrew D; Ptacek, Travis; Tsuruta, Yuko et al. (2018) Dietary Changes Impact the Gut Microbe Composition in Overweight and Obese Men with Prostate Cancer Undergoing Radical Prostatectomy. J Acad Nutr Diet 118:714-723.e1

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