This revised application seeks renewal of the Chromosome Metabolism and Cancer Training Grant (CMCTG) at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Fred Hutch), an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. The training program bridges the gap between basic and translational cancer research by bringing together young translational and basic scientists in one of the nation?s premier cancer research institutions, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Fred Hutch), and leverages the synergies emerging from an extraordinarily wide range of ongoing research. The CMCTG is the only Fred Hutch institutional training grant (T32) that is focused on molecular mechanisms of cancer. The 26 training faculty members include four junior faculty members who are being developed as the next generation of research mentors. Of the 22 senior trainers, four are members of the National Academy of Sciences and three are Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. All of the training faculty have vigorous research programs and external funding, and most have support from the NCI, ACS, DoD or cancer foundations. The program is administered by the PI and Assistant PI and a Steering Committee comprising four of the training faculty plus the head of the Office of Scientific Career Development and an External Advisor. The goal of the program is to train young scientists toward a career in cancer research with special emphasis on investigating fundamental molecular and cell biology of normal and cancer cells. Our training program is based on the concept that the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer will require a profound understanding of the molecular mechanisms that underlie the behavior of normal cells and drive the initiation, progression, and maintenance of tumors and their environment. Training occurs in small, dedicated research labs on an integrated campus, allowing close monitoring of trainee progress, effective mentoring of junior members of the Training Faculty, and frequent exchange of ideas between trainees and mentors. Extensive core facilities support cutting-edge research. Over the past 10 years, the CMCTG has impacted the careers of 11 pre-doctoral and 35 postdoctoral trainees, of whom 2 predocs and 6 postdocs are still supported. 9 trainees are/were from under-represented minority groups. Of the 38 past trainees, 8 are junior faculty in research or teaching at universities, 8 are staff scientists or in science administration in academic settings, 5 have research positions in biotech, 14 remain in training at Fred Hutch or other institutions, 1 is deceased, 1 is on medical leave, and 1 is a homemaker. Seven postdoctoral trainees obtained independent research fellowships from the American Cancer Society, and four predoctoral trainees won prestigious NSF predoctoral fellowships. We plan to continue this record of success into the future.
This revised renewal application seeks continuation of a long-standing training grant, The Chromosome Metabolism and Cancer Training Grant (CMCTG), that supports basic research into cancer at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Fred Hutch). The Fred Hutch provides a unique training environment in which the clinical, basic science, translational, and public health sciences division are in close proximity and highly focused on cancer. Research areas supported by the CMCTG include DNA replication, damage and repair, chromosome segregation and stability, epigenetics, protein structure, and the regulation of gene expression at multiple levels. Biological systems under study range from yeast to mice and patient samples; and include the generation and analysis of a wide range of neoplasms. Trainees employ these systems and cutting edge methods to study mechanisms of cell motility and metastasis, cancer immunology and genomics, tumor dormancy and microenvironment, and therapeutics and resistance. Moreover the program provides exposure to, and training in, technologies that are at the forefront of contemporary biology including proteomics, genomics, and advanced methods in microscopy and computational biology.
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