This is the sixth recompetition of the Albert Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center, first funded by NCI in 1972. With the last submission in 1995, a new Director, Dr. I. David Goldman, was appointed and the two new programs were established- Cancer Control and Epidemiology, and Colon Cancer. These additions broadened the spectrum of cancer research at this Center to include population-based sciences and intensified the disease focus. Since then there have been important new developments. With a major institutional commitment to the growth of the Center, 30 new members have been recruited since 1995; 28 are new to the college. Following an intensive process of external review, Center programs were reconstructed and clinical and basic research activities were integrated into the same programs to foster collaboration between basic and clinical investigators and enhance translation. The clinical oncology program on the college campus has been expanded, bringing together basic and clinical investigators. An outreach program was launched to address the needs of Bronx minority populations and behavioral research was initiated. These developments have sharpened the cancer focus, stimulated collaborations, and let to an 80 percent increase in NCI funding since 1995 ($8M to $14.4M in direct costs). The overall peer-reviewed funding increased from $24.7M to $42.7M. This occurred with only a 14 percent increase in membership (to 114) indicating the highly selective nature of the new appointments to the Center. In 1997, the Center was designated as """"""""Comprehensive"""""""". There have been many new programmatic developments. Dr. Thomas Rohan was recruited to lead the Cancer Control and Epidemiology Program. He is also leading the NY Cancer Project, that is developing a large multi-ethnic cohort of epidemiological studies funded by the City of New York. Five Surgical Oncologists were recruited, one to the Chair of Surgery (Dr. T. Ravikumar). A Cancer Vaccine program was launched. A Phase I effort was initiated. An affinity group in the area of Tumor Cell Motility and Invasion with a strong intravital imaging technology component was established and a new mulitphoton microscope acquired. A Stem Cells/Lineage Commitment affinity group, and working groups in Viral-Based Therapies and Breast Cancer, were established. The human papillomavirus group has expanded. There are new investigator-initiated clinical trials at this Canter, many of which are linked to, or in some cases based upon, correlative laboratory studies led by Center members. There are new shared resources and technology development. A Structural Biology Facility encompasses NMR, x-ray crystallography, and two beams a the National Synchroton Light Source at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. The Center has joined with other New York institutions in a structural genomics initiative (recently NIH-funded) and in the development of an 800 mHz NMR facility. With the expansion of gene-targeting and transgenic activities, a mouse Histopathology Shared Resource was developed. A DNA Microarray Facility became operational in 1998, and led to a recent award of an NCI Director?s challenge grant to apply this technology, along with in situ hybridization high throughput technologies developed at this Center, to study molecular correlates of therapeutic response in colon cancer. These developments, along with major new commitments of laboratory space and faculty positions from the College, place this Center in an excellent position to move ahead for another five years of productive and innovative research.
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