The Developmental Research Program (DRP) main goal is to select and support highly promising and innovative Pilot Research Projects studying the genetic, biological and/or social determinants of Health Disparities in triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) and other malignancies that disproportionately affect minority patients of Louisiana. Pilot Research Projects (PRP) will develop the preliminary data to support competitive Research Projects for a future SPORE application. These may include additional basic research concepts using patient samples, clinical interventions in the form of clinical trials or population studies. These Pilot Research Projects will expand the scope and depth of research on TNBC, and other malignancies such as liver cancer, endometrial cancer, familial prostate cancer and colorectal cancer that represent major health disparities in our community. Given that part of our efforts is aimed at understanding the role of genomic signatures and inflammatory features in TNBC, we will encourage Pilot Research Projects that address similar mechanisms in other cancers. High quality projects in these fields would create horizontal and vertical integration of the knowledge and resources of Projects 1 and 2 with the selected Pilot Research Projects. To achieve its goal, the DRP will provide direct and significant financial support for the PRP and provide the investigators with access to the expertise and resources of the Shared Resource Core facilities supported by this P20 planning grant, and other Core facilities available at the Stanley Scott Cancer Center (LSU CC- NO) and at our partner institutions. The DRP will select and fund a minimum of four (4) PRP over the 36 months addressing Cancer and Health Disparities. At the completion of this P20 planning grant, we expect that the PRPs will have developed the necessary data to evolve into competitive Research Projects that will form part of the future SPORE application. The PRP's will help establish a pipeline of highly competitive research projects to ensure the long-term sustainability of research in Cancer Health Disparities in Louisiana.
The Developmental Research Program will select a minimum of 4 Pilot Research Projects (PRP) over the 36 months that address different aspects of cancer health disparities, and develop data and knowledge complementary to Projects 1 and 2. It is expected that the PRPs will evolve to become competitive Research Projects, which will form part of a future SPORE application. Successful PRPs will represent the pipeline of projects that will ensure the long-term sustainability of competitive research in Cancer Health Disparities in Louisiana.
