CANCER BIOLOGY PROGRAM Lisa M. Coussens, PhD, and Melissa Wong, PhD, Program Co-Leaders ABSTRACT Cancer Biology (CB) Program members explore genetic, molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying cancer initiation, progression, and response and resistance to therapy, providing platforms to translate basic science discoveries to clinical care. The program strives to gain insights into therapeutically-targetable pathways in neoplastic and host-derived cells within complex tumor microenvironments that drive malignancy. The program supports the overarching goal of the Knight Cancer Institute to understand the molecular and cellular basis of cancer and to translate these findings into precision clinical care. To accomplish these goals, the program is organized into three research themes: signal transduction (focused on cellular signaling mechanism relevant to homeostatic and neoplastic cell proliferation), carcinogenesis/genetic instability (examining cell intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms that predispose to cancer, including regulation of cell-cycle checkpoint control, DNA damage and repair, and genetic and epigenetic alterations), and the tumor microenvironment (investigating mesenchymal support, immune, and vascular cell interactions with neoplastic cells). Program co-leader Melissa Wong, Ph.D., is an expert in stem cell biology, particularly in colorectal, breast and pancreas cancers. Co-leader Lisa M. Coussens, Ph.D., is an expert in the biology of microenvironmental regulation of solid tumorigenesis, with emphasis on cutaneous squamous, breast and pancreatic cancer. The 26 members are drawn from five basic science departments, three clinical departments or divisions in the OHSU School of Medicine, and four institutes affiliated with OHSU. Annual direct-cost funding as of January 2016 amounted to $14,666,464 (total cost), of which $6,250,223 (total cost) was from the NCI and $11,592,453 (total cost) was peer-reviewed. The discoveries made in this program have resulted in 202 publications, of which 12% are intra-programmatic collaborations and 28% are inter-programmatic collaborations, and 56% are inter-institutional.
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