The Gene and Virus Therapy Program (GVTP) is currently comprised of 19 members, both basic scientists and clinician investigators from 10 departments and divisions working interactively to develop novel genetically based approaches to the treatment of cancer. The goals of the Program are: 1) To enhance understanding of the biology of the viruses and cells that are used to create new gene delivery systems; 2) To advance the technology base from which new gene and virus-based therapies can be created; and 3) To improve the outcomes of cancer treatment by developing new gene arid virus-based therapies and testing them in the clinic. These goals are supported by four major research themes: (I) vector development; (II) immuno-modulation; (III) preclinical and clinical pharmacology, and (IV) cell carriers. In addition to intensive intra-programmatic interactions, substantive inter-programmatic interactions, essential for the process of clinical translation, have been established between the GVTP and other MCCC Programs including the Hematologic Malignancies Program, the Women's Cancer Program, the Gastrointestinal Cancer Program, the Neuro-oncology Program and the Cancer Immunology & Immunotherapy Program. The leader. Dr. Evanthia Galanis, is an oncologist with considerable stature in the field of gene and virus therapy. The NIH funding base for the Program currently stands at $5,507,018 per annum in total costs (a 56% increase from last renewal), 68.3% of which represents NCI funding. Productivity of the Program during the current funding period has been significant, amounting to a total of 343 publications (as of 12/2012), in addition to the launching and/or completion of multiple Phase l/ll clinical trials in which recombinant viruses that were designed, constructed, preclinically tested, and manufactured at the Mayo Clinic have been administered to patients with various types of cancer. Additionally, there are several promising projects in the translational pipeline, including a recently approved IND to conduct first in-human clinical testing of a mesenchymal stem cell viral delivery platform; furthermore, a randomized phase II trial of the MV derivative MV-NIS versus oncologist chemotherapy of choice in recurrent ovarian cancer patients is in development.
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