This proposal represents a continuation of a training program at UC San Diego in the Biochemistry of Growth Regulation and Oncogenesis, requesting funding for Years 29-33. Faculty members are drawn from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, the Division of Biological Sciences, and the School of Medicine. All faculty mentors are also members of the Moores UCSD Cancer Center. [The training faculty includes 7 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 1 Nobel laureate, 4 Fellows of the AACR, 1 past president of the AACR, and 1 Lasker recipient.] Faculty mentors continue to be organized into four research areas focusing on: kinases, phosphatases, and their signaling pathways; the control of cell cycle progression, DNA checkpoints, apoptosis, and metastasis; transcription factors and their signaling pathways; and the chemistry of cancer therapeutics. Training involves a monthly Training Grant Meeting, formal courses, journal clubs, trainee/faculty luncheons, and other events to promote program cohesion and interaction. A Supervisory Committee provides strong program oversight in trainee selection, evaluation, and programmatic decisions. [With this resubmission, program leadership has been strengthened by the appointment of a Co- Director for Years 29-33, the addition of new Supervisory Committee members selected for cancer relevance and ability to provide future program leadership as needed, and by new members of our External Advisory Committee. Overall, this program is highly dynamic, synergistic, and interdisciplinary.] TRAINEES: Our current and past trainees have excellent records of research accomplishments. We have requested seven postdoctoral positions and five predoctoral positions for Years 29-33, unchanged from present. The requested slots continue to be justified by ongoing growth at UC San Diego, by the ability of the training faculty to recruit outstanding predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees to their labs, and by the highly interactive nature of the training labs that collectively provide a superb training environment. Predoctoral trainees will be drawn from graduate students accepted into the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry or into Biological Sciences. Postdoctoral trainees will be selected from postdoctoral candidates applying for positions in the laboratories of the training faculty. All trainees accepted into our program are expected to have strong backgrounds in chemistry, biochemistry, and molecular and cell biology. PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS AND CHANGES: This renewal highlights several changes, including: [three exciting new faculty additions with this resubmission;] strengthened interactions with the Moores UCSD Cancer Center; greater faculty/trainee interactions to promote program cohesion; successful recruitment of additional URM candidates including 3 funded Minority Supplements; revised requirements for training in Responsible Conduct of Research; and strong endorsements from key administrative leaders, [many of the faculty mentors, and members of our External Advisory Committee.] [Note: Major changes to resubmission shown square brackets.]
This application seeks funding to continue a long-term training program in the Biochemistry of Growth Regulation and Oncogenesis focused on cancer research at the University of California, San Diego. The mission of this program is to provide training to outstanding pre-doctoral and post-doctoral PhD scientists in order to prepare them for careers in basic cancer research in academic or industrial institutions. A total of thirty-two facuty mentors, including seven members of the National Academy of Sciences, one Nobel laureate, 4 Fellows of the AACR, 1 past president of the AACR, and 1 Lasker recipient, are committed to state-of-the-art laboratory mentoring to develop and mentor trainees to become future leaders in the development of research programs and strategies that will ultimately improve cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 179 publications
