This is the second renewal of a Cancer Center Support grant that was first awarded in 1981 to support the Cancer Research Center of the La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation. The Center, which encompasses the entire Foundation, conducts research on the related fields of tumor biology and developmental biology, collectively termed """"""""oncodevelopmental biology"""""""". The Center has experienced fast growth during the first four years of the current grant period. The number of Staff has grown form 13 to 21 and the total research space has double, reaching 65,000 square feet. The new shared services established include facilities for protein chemistry, carbohydrate chemistry, oligonucleotide synthesis and DNA chemistry, and a transgenic mouse facility. Scientifically the Center has matured into a recognized research institution with a reputation as one of the leading institutions in the fields of extracellular matrix research and cell surface carbohydrates. The Center is also establishing itself in the oncogene and growth factor field. Highlights of the research include the establishment of the tripeptide Arg-Gly-Asp as the cell attachment site of fibronectin and several other adhesive proteins, the identification and cloning of cell surface receptors that recognize such proteins, and the elucidation of several noel carbohydrate structures expressed at tumor cell surfaces. Future plans outlined in a formally adopted 10-year plan project continued growth. recruiting and development of new facilities will aim at further deepening of the molecular focus in the Foundation research by recruiting a world-class molecular biologist and by developing new shared services facilities for crystallography and NMR. These additions will allow Foundation scientists to work out important biological mechanisms in molecular detail and, ultimately, to find ways to control them. This Center grant is of vital importance for the maintenance of the current research environment at the Foundation and for its future development.
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