? TUMOR INITIATION AND MAINTENANCE PROGRAM The overall goals of the Tumor Initiation and Maintenance (TIM) Program are to identify the cells that give rise to tumors and the signals that allow these cells to expand uncontrollably, and to use this information to develop more effective approaches to treating human cancer. The TIM Program was established in 2013, when the Cancer Center was reorganized, with NCI's approval, to enhance interaction and collaboration among members. Led by Dr. Wechsler-Reya, the Program consists of 17 faculty and 2 adjunct faculty, including many members of the former Tumor Development and Signal Transduction Programs. TIM Program members have a wide range of cancer-relevant interests including self-renewal, cell cycle progression, oncogenic signaling pathways, ubiquitin ligases and regulation of cell fate by non-coding RNAs. Encompassing these interests, the Program is comprised of three overarching themes: Stem Cells and Development (focusing on the molecular and cellular mechanisms that control self-renewal, differentiation, and transformation); Cell Growth Signaling (studying the factors and processes that regulate normal and malignant cell growth); and RNA Biology and Epigenetics (investigating the regulation of gene expression and cell fate by DNA and histone modification and by non-coding RNAs). The program has a strong cancer focus, with particular emphasis on brain tumors, melanoma, breast and prostate cancer. Program members interact closely with one another and other Cancer Center members, resulting in numerous collaborative grants and joint publications. Of the 38 grants awarded to Program members through both NCI and other peer-reviewed cancer-related mechanisms, 39% were collaborative. Members also published 254 cancer relevant papers in the last funding period, of which 22% were collaborative (10% intra-programmatic and 12% inter-programmatic). In the coming years, the TIM Program will seek to recruit new faculty, particularly in the areas of genomics, epigenetics and animal models of cancer. In addition, Program members will focus on translational research to move findings from basic cancer biology toward the clinic.
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