In this proposal, we seek to establish a Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) in Skin Cancer at Harvard University and Brigham and Women's Hospital, within the newly configured Dana Farber Harvard Cancer Center. The Dana-Farber Harvard Cancer Center SPORE includes investigators from Harvard Medical School and School of Public Health, as well as the Brigham and Women's Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Children's Hospital Medical Center, Dana- Farber Cancer Institute, and the Massachusetts General Hospital. These institutions have come together around the theme of translational research in melanoma and cutaneous oncology Five Projects, five Shared Resources (Cores), a Developmental Program, and a Cancer Development Program are proposed. Project 1 will translate epidemiologic findings into the Development of improved risk models for melanoma; once developed, these will be validated across a large patient population. Project 2 employs the power of whole genome transcriptional profiling with the ultimate goal of improving our ability to diagnose and predict the biological course of primary melanoma. Project 3 tests the hypothesis that cutaneous T cell lymphoma is a malignancy of a population of memory T cells that normally performs immunosurveillance of the skin, and seeks to identify new targets for therapy. Projects 4 and 5 are exciting translational clinical trials. In Project 4, two diametrically different dendritic cell vaccination strategies are directly compared, using novel immunological endpoints.. In Project 5, biochemotherapeutic approaches are employed to treat metastatic melanoma. Immunologic monitoring will be performed again with the goal of improving therapy for melanoma patients. These five Projects are integrated by five Cores. The Biostatistics Core provides expert consultation to each study while the Tissue and Pathology Core provides controlled and organized access to tissue vital for these projects. An assessment of immunologic endpoints. The Clinical Data Management Core provides a vital service of creating dynamic and flexible databases that integrate Projects across multiple Harvard-affiliated hospitals. Finally, a Development Program features five projects, each of which is a candidate for evolution into a full project is promising translational results are obtained. A Career Development Program, which takes a broad view of the development of the physician scientist over the course of a career, is a centerpiece of this application. An administrative structure is in place that will assure oversight, integration, planning, didactic activities, and most importantly, the growth and evolution into a full project if promising translational results are obtained. A Career Development Program, which takes a broad view of the development of the physician scientist over the course of a career, is a centerpiece of this application. An administrative structure is in place that will assure oversight, integration, planning, didactic activities, and most importantly, the growth and evolution of the SPORE over the next five years.
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