Translational Laboratory Shared Service The facility for the Translational Laboratory (TL) was established in 2004 at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center (UMGCC). The TL facilitates the preclinical and clinical development of novel, targeted anticancer agents that will ultimately provide cancer patients with better treatment options. The TL has several missions and capabilities: (a) make preclinical in vitro and in vivo model expertise available to UMGCC members on campus and facilitate translation of novel therapeutic concepts from bench to bedside;(b) add value to advanced preclinical developments of pharmaceutical companies and create a pipeline of new drugs for UMGCC's Phase I and II clinicians;and (c) provide UMGCC's clinicians with the means to perform early clinical trials of molecularly targeted drugs that require the assessment of pharmacodynamic endpoints. The TL is located in an 800-square foot room on the 9th floor of the Bressler Research Building, just across the bridge from the UMGCC 9W inpatient hospital. The building also includes space for a liquid nitrogen storage room, cold room, centrifuge and freezer room, dark room, and radioisotope area. Animal work can be performed in the vivarium, which is operated by Veterinary Resources of the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Space in two holding rooms, allocated to TL, can house immunocompetent or immunodeficient mice. Currently, the TL has five staff members: the director;two members dedicated to assay development, collection, and analysis of clinical samples for effects of drugs on proposed molecular targets and affected pathways;and two postdoctoral fellows dedicated to research and development. Currently, eight clinical Phase I and II trials, with a translational research initiative component, are ongoing. Six trials are sponsored by the National Cancer Institute;three are investigator initiated, and three are conducted under the U01 subcontract with Karmanos Cancer Institute at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. From April 2005 to June 2007, the TL supported 37 grant applications;25 percent of these were funded, including 4 R01 grants from NIH and 2 grants from the U.S. Department of Defense. The preclinical services most in demand are drug screening and in vivo animal models. The TL also provides these services to small biotechnology companies and has contracts with three small businesses that relate to either drug or biomarker development. Three provisional patents have been filed with TL's involvement. About 78 percent of the budget for Fiscal Year 2008 will result from chargebacks and grants.
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