Full maturation of the Center for Colon Cancer Research (CCCR) requires that successful young faculty whose research programs were initiated and established during Phases I and 11 collaborate with each other and with senior faculty to form interactive teams that have the capacity for creative approaches to new and challenging problems relevant to colorectal cancer. Thus, during the Phase 111 term, the CCCR will manage a Research Pilot Project Program to foster unique collaborations among center faculty, including both senior and junior investigators. This will be done via the following aims:
Aim 1. To sponsor a seed fund program for investigator-initiated projects related to CRC. The center will entertain applications for new projects that address challenging issues relevant to colorectal cancer. Novel grant applications to the NIH and other agencies will be expected to emerge from this effort.
Aim 2. To promote establishment of multi-disciplinary programs concentrating on specific CRC relevant themes. Teams of investigators that have synergized their expertise around focused themes relating to colorectal cancer will develop competitive program project and center grant applications, as well as novel multi-disciplinary ROIs.
Aim 3. To enhance the ability to recruit and retain graduate students representing underserved minorities. Focus will be on African-Americans, since this represents such a large segment of the population of South Carolina and other states in the southeast region of the US. In all of these aims, the Research Cores and the Administrative Core of the CCCR will play major roles in providing high-end technology, fiscal oversight, clerical support, and monitoring of progress.
Given the rather poor health indicators with regard to colorectal cancer, there is a great need for translafing research into meaningful improvements in health. This requires that creative research teams be assembled and supported as interactive clusters where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The Research Pilot program will finance the formation and development of such teams, to enhance colorectal cancer research.
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