This application represents the efforts of interdisciplinary teams of investigators from the Neuro-Oncology Program of the UCSF Cancer Center to apply their knowledge and expertise to translational research focused on brain tumors. The heart of the proposal is four translational research projects, each driven by pairs of applied and basic researchers, and each intended to create novel tools and therapies potentially useful in the treatment of human brain tumors. Project One focuses on the use of population science to find factors important in glioma patient survival. Project Two focuses on the use of sophisticated spectroscopic techniques to improve diagnosis and surgical resection of tumors. Project Three focuses on the development of liposomal drug delivery to improve the therapy of gliomas, while Project Four intends to characterize signal transduction cascades as a means of guiding glioma therapy. The proposal also includes support mechanisms for Career Development Research Programs, Developmental Research Programs, and 2 Cores that will support all aspects of the work proposed. Each project draws on the extensive experience of the investigators in the brain tumor field and on the long history of the UCSF Department of Neurosurgery and the UCSF Brain Tumor Research Center in translational research. The projects will be additionally strengthened by collaborations between researchers and other scientists in the UCSF Cancer Center, and (particularly in the case of Project Three), with scientists involved with the existing UCSF Breast Tumor SPORE. Finally, as a leading center of brain tumor clinical trials in America, an infrastructure already in place in the Department of Neurosurgery will allow the rapid clinical translation of important scientific breakthroughs. The UCSF Brain Tumor SPORE is led by Mitchel Berger, MD, a nationally recognized leader in neurosurgery and translational brain tumor research. The clinical Co-PI of this proposal is Michael Prados, MD. Dr. Prados is head of the North American Brain Tumor Consortium, and a Principal Investigator of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium. He is a recognized leader in the development and implementation of clinical trials, and is ideally suited to carry our findings to the clinic. The clinical expertise, along with the strong laboratory-based research climate at UCSF, suggest that the work proposed will lead to significant progress in the treatment of brain tumors.
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