Although we have witnessed tremendous success in our cancer clinics in the past five years, over half of our patients will receive frontline treatments that are more than 25 years old. That sobering statistic indicates that we must continue to recruit the next generation of cancer scientists and continue to innovate in our labs and our shared resources. Developmental Funds provide essential support for the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center's (VICC) strategic initiatives. During the current project period, this support was applied towards recruitment of new faculty and for support of pilot projects. A total of eight new faculty members were provided with recruitment support; including a key strategic recruitment to underscore our commitment to smoking cessation. A total of 11 pilot projects were funded over the project period with a significant publication and a subsequent funding of next to 20-fold more than initially invested. $102,498 per year would be allocated for new faculty recruitment in targeted strategic areas, including but not limited to cancer genetics, genomics and epigenetics, cancer drug discovery, personalized cancer medicine, phase I investigations, cancer epidemiology and population-based research, cancer control and hematologic and neurologic malignancies. A request of $200,000 per year will support three types of pilot projects: 1) highly innovative projects focusing on proof-of- concept or translational research, 2) preliminary collaborative investigations leading to multi-investigator grants, and 3) projects that closely align to our strategic plan in order to enhance key initiatives. Developmental funds will also be used to support seven staff investigators in clinical, basic, population and disparities research. The VICC has a proven track record in the stewardship of these funds. The current request, in concert with the continued commitment of VICC discretionary funds, enables the Director to support activities critical to the sustained research excellence of the VICC.
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