?Developmental Biology and Solid Tumor Program Despite recent advances in understanding the etiology of pediatric solid tumors, the overall survival rate has not significantly improved in over 2 decades. For children with recurrent solid tumors, the survival rate is below 30%, and long-term survivors have an increase in the burden of disease associated with the administration of curative therapies. Therefore, the goal of the Developmental Biology and Solid Tumor Program (DBSTP) is to improve the survival and quality of life of children with solid tumors by integrating basic, translational, and clinical research. Michael Dyer, Ph.D. (laboratory lead) and Alberto Pappo, M.D. (clinical lead) are responsible for the overall leadership, academic themes, and direction of the DBSTP. They meet weekly to coordinate the activities of the program, identify opportunities for clinical translation and plan clinical trials. In addition, they mentor faculty within the Division of Solid Tumors, identifying and removing barriers to successful collaboration among SJCCC members and investigators around the world who share their goal to improve survival and quality of life for children with solid tumors. DBSTP holds a weekly seminar series to provide a forum for every Program member to present their research as well as monthly working group meetings focused on thematic research areas. The DBSTP has 21 Full Members and 4 Associate (junior mentored) Members representing the Departments of Oncology, Chemical Biology and Therapeutics, Developmental Neurobiology, Radiation Oncology, Diagnostic Imaging, Global Pediatric Medicine, Cancer Center Administration, Pathology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Surgery, Computational Biology and Immunology. Among the full members, 11 are MDs, 7 are PhDs and 3 are MD/PhDs. Thirteen new members have been recruited to the DBSTP over the past 5 years to strengthen the basic, translational, and clinical research programs aligned with the 4 thematic Working Groups (Immunotherapy, Precision Medicine, Rare Tumors and Recurrent Disease). Peer-reviewed cancer focused funding has increased by 60% from $2.5M to $4M and the DBSTP also has $1.3M in annual funding from foundations. Research from the DBSTP has resulted in 475 publications, of which 22.9% are intra-programmatic, 40.4% are inter- programmatic, and 68.2% are inter-institutional (with other NCI-designated Cancer Centers). Overall, interactions both within the Program and with other Programs increased substantially since 2013. Program members serve as principal investigators on 18 clinical trials and 26 COG or industry-sponsored trials. They contributed a total of 801 interventional enrollments (51 national, 730 institutional, and 20 industry).
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