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.
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.
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