Basic cancer research is essential to advancing our understanding into cancer development and progression, and new mechanistic insights provide new tools and strategies for cancer prevention, diagnosis and therapy. The Cancer Biology Program (CB) conducts cutting-edge studies into the fundamental cellular, molecular, genetic, biochemical, and immunological mechanisms of cancer development and progression, with the goal to translate molecular discoveries into diagnostic modalities. Studies are further focused on natural products from the local endemic species and synthetic small molecules for the discovery of chemical probes that could be used to interrogate cancer pathways and could serve as leads for medicinal chemistry optimization towards new therapeutic entities. The Program has 20 full members and 9 associate members from the University of Hawai?i?s Cancer Center, School of Medicine, Chemistry Department, and College of Pharmacy; one from University of Guam; and one from The City University of New York, Brooklyn. Of these, 15 have joined since the previous review. The CB members currently receive a combined $4.61M annually in direct funding, including $2.56M from the NCI and $1.01M in other NIH support. The numbers in all three designations are significantly higher than the comparable numbers during the previous cycle. Over the past six years, members have authored a total of 519 cancer-related publications, of which 21% originated from intra-programmatic, 17% from inter- programmatic, and 61% from inter-institutional collaborations. The primary goal of CB is to conduct translational research through multi-disciplinary efforts, whereby discoveries of the cellular and molecular mechanisms of cancer development and progression lead to novel targets and potential strategies for cancer prevention, early detection, diagnosis, and drug discovery and treatment. The three major scientific goals of the Program are to: 1) uncover new mechanistic insights into the development and progression of cancer, 2) identify new targets for interrogation and validation for both mechanistic insights and therapeutic significance, and 3) translate molecular and chemical probe discoveries into new chemoprevention, therapeutic, and diagnostic modalities. To accomplish these goals, we have aggregated the Program members around two main scientific themes to promote translation of scientific discovery and achieve coalescence of efforts: 1) Cancer Mechanisms: focuses in cellular and molecular mechanisms, and inflammatory events, which promote cancer development and progression; and 2) Molecular Targets and Intervention: focuses on interrogating key mechanisms as targets for the development of new small molecules and natural products probes, and molecular tools as effective preventive, early detection, and therapeutic modalities. Members of the Program have complementary expertise in cell and molecular biology (signal transduction, immunobiology and inflammation, and genetics), chemical biology (biochemistry, synthetic chemistry, natural products), and medical and surgical oncology.
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