8. EXPERIMENTAL THERAPEUTICS PROGRAM Francis Ali-Osman, D.Se. and Michael Colvin, M.D., Co-Leaders The overall goal of the Experimental Therapeutics Program is to develop and evaluate novel more effective and less toxic therapies for cancer. The Program is multidisciplinary and spans basic, translational and clinical research. The program comprises of 38 members from 11 different departments, covering the spectrum from basic, translational to clinical science. The interests, expertise and activities of members of the Program can be grouped into four main categories: a) the rational discovery, development and clinical evaluation of novel, more effective and less toxic therapeutics for cancer;b) the conduct of innovative clinical trials of cancer therapies, with an emphasis on Phase I and II studies and the development and application of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters and/or biomarkers that predict therapeutic outcome as early surrogate endpoints;c) pharmacogenomics and pharmaeogenetics of cancer therapy. The Program provides an infrastructure of shared resources to facilitate the discovery and evaluation of new cancer therapies and for collaborative research activities, including the pursuit of collaborative grants (ROls, POls, UOls and SPOREs). Primary Program activities are the organization of retreats, seminar series and related focus groupl activities to facilitate interaction;and exchange of ideas and information between Program members, graduate I students and post-doctoral trainees. The Program, first included in the Cancer Center's core grant during the I last review cycle, has further strengthened its multidisciplinary nature, brought in new members and I established new and exciting collaborations with other programs with the DCCC. During this award period, I Program members have published over 1000 papers, and currently have over $11 million of peer-reviewed I funded grants, including 24 ROls, 3 POls and 2 SPOREs. In this renewal application new initiatives are I being undertaken in the areas of rational drug discovery and pharmacogenomics, resulting in the inclusion oq new Program members with interest and expertise in these area.
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