Progress Overview - September 2003 - June 2004

The administrative core was very active during 2003-2004 in providing, research support as well as career development and continuing education activities for COBRE CCRD investigators. 

RFA for translational research:  During this time period, the COBRE CCRD has provided support for one postdoctoral fellowship, seven pilot projects and two transition awards to graduating investigators. Three of the pilot projects were awarded to applicants responding to a COBRE CCRD RFA on translational research, which required at least two principal investigators, one in clinical and the other in basic research. Applications were reviewed by a review committee chaired by Alan. Rosmarin, MD, chair of the COBRE CCRD translational research committee and other senior COBRE CCRD investigators.  The principal investigators on the three best grants were allowed to write a rebuttal to points of concern raised by reviewers. These rebuttals were reviewed by Rosmarin, who after much deliberation, recommended that the three best applications should all be funded. Taking this into consideration, awards of $25,000 were made to the following teams of investigators:

1. Maureen Chung, MD, PhD, a surgeon, and Howard Safran, MD, an oncologist, to explore the efficacy of a BCG-based MUC1 vaccine for inhibiting pancreatic cancer in a transgenic mouse model of spontaneous pancreatic cancer
2. Edward Filardo, PhD, a surgical research associate and pathologists, Dilip Giri, MD and Murray Resnick, MD, to evaluate the orphan receptor GPR30 as a novel marker of estrogen responsiveness in human breast cancers
3. Yow-Pin Lim, MD, PhD, an investigator in the molecular carcinogenesis lab and Neal Ready, MD, PhD, an oncologist to investigate the role of inter-alpha trypsin inhibitors in the acquisition of metastatic growth by hepatocellular, gastrointestinal and lung cancers

Through this RFA, we were able to bring two excellent oncologists, Safran and Ready, into the CCCRD pursuing research with a high potential for translation.

Seminar Series
The CCCRD and the Lifespan Liver Center and advisory committee meetings jointly sponsored a seminar series. The seminars were presented by COBRE CCRD and guest investigators and were well attended by members of both centers and have attracted faculty from the three other COBREs in Rhode Island. All four of the full project investigators and four pilot project investigators gave excellent presentations. Advisory committee meetings, held immediately following the seminar, were very productive, enjoyable and successful in providing junior investigators with recommendations on experimental approaches and strategies for responding to criticisms on grants and manuscripts. Mentors took their responsibilities seriously and provided excellent guidance and advice. A second round of advisory committee meetings in March and April were equally productive.

Workshops, Seminars and Symposia
The CCCRD has been very active in organizing and/or sponsoring workshops and symposia.  These include:

a) A workshop moderated by Teresa Selada, a consultant for the CCCRD, which focused on the regulatory issues surrounding research with human biological materials.

b) A COBRE CCRD minisymposium on translational research with presentations by Olivera Finn, PhD (University of Pittsburgh), on cancer vaccines, Yow Pin Lim, MD, PhD (Rhode Island Hospital/Prothera Biologics), on the diagnostic and therapeutic applications of inter-alpha trypsin inhibitors and Ray Frackelton, PhD (Roger Williams Medical Center), on Shc proteins as prognostic markers in breast cancer.

c) Co-sponsor of a workshop on grantsmanship organized by Sharon Rounds, MD, the assistant dean of medical faculty affairs at Brown University.

d) Co-sponsorship and organization of a workshop on career development, laboratory management and preparation of publications.  The keynote speaker was Kathy Barker, PhD, the author of At the Bench and At the Helm. Nancy Thompson, PhD, COBRE CCRD deputy director, was a member of a panel of seven senior investigators providing advice on dealing with publish or perish issues.

e) Seminars by guest speakers including:

• Seminars on the potential of hematopoietic stem cells in treating disease presented by Peter Quesenberry, MD, a principal investigator for the Roger Williams Medical Center COBRE for Stem Cell Research .
• A seminar on the role of DNA damage processing in cell injury presented by Anatoly Zhitkovich, PhD, from Brown University.
• A seminar on effectors of senescent states presented by John Sedivy, PhD, a principal investigator for the Brown University COBRE for Genetics and Genomics.
• A seminar on contribution of glycosylation and melanoma adhesion molecule (MCAM) in melanoma invasion presented by Deirdre Coombe, PhD.
• A seminar on desmosome signaling in differentiation and cancer presented by Kathy Green from Northwestern University
• A minisymposium on proteomics and molecular pathology analyses with presentations by Djuro Josic, PhD, director of proteomics core on Use of High Resolution Analytical Methods in Proteomics, Andreas Rizzi, PhD, a professor at the University of Vienna, on Antithrombin - A New Proteomics Perspective on a Well-Known Protein and Edmond Sabo, MD, director of surgical pathology at Rhode Island Hospital, on Image and Pattern Analysis in Pathology.

The Second Annual CCCRD Symposium
This event was held on June 25, 2004 in the Providence Convention Center.

Grand Opening
We officially opened the fully operational proteomics core.

Website
Our website was activated in early April. We are pleased with the results and are actively expanding the information presented. We will regularly update the sidte with data from various applications of the technology available in the proteomics core, upcoming events, an updated list of ways the people from the Rhode Island community can participate in the center, and details on upcoming symposia.

Weekly Staff Meetings
For the last four months, we have held weekly staff meetings to discuss long range planning, personnel and staffing issues and administrative matters. This has proved to be a very useful forum that keeps all the staff up-to-date and helps identify problems and generate solutions.

Initiation of quarterly COBRE Center meetings
These meetings are attended by the directors, assistant directors and administrators of the COBRE Centers for Cancer Research Development, Neonatal Biology and Genetics and Genomics. The goal of these meetings is to identify mechanisms to promote mutually beneficial interactions between the three centers.

Long Range Plans by the Administrative Core
We have begun gathering information needed to apply for an NCI Cancer Center Support Grant. Based on current information, we more than satisfy the minimum amount of direct peer-reviewed grant dollars as well as the six essential characteristics of an NCI-designated cancer research center. Our immediate goal is to formulate a prospectus for evaluation by an NCI CCSG program office that can provide advice on whether are resources and research programs are sufficient for a successful NCI CCSG application. A second goal during the next budget period is to begin discussion with Lifespan executives on the development of a general clinical research center, an essential facility for translational research. We already have a number of ideas on how to raise sufficient funds to support a clinical research center but will need a commitment of space by the administration before we can proceed.

Significance
The overall plan for the COBRE CCRD is on track, with all core facilities close to being fully operational in year two. All major equipment purchases for the cores were completed in year two. The renovation and space for the administrative and proteomics cores were completed in March 2004. The newly hired proteomics director made significant progress developing relationships with the investigators and the research community. This led to six potential collaborations involving the proteomics core. Two junior investigators submitted R01 applications and another junior investigator submitted a Breast Cancer Research Program Center of Excellence Award Proposal. Two pilot investigators were successful in securing substantial funding from other sources. Noting this success, COBRE CCRD awarded these investigators “transition awards” that provide core support and inclusion in the COBRE CCRD activities.

One Hoppin Street • Providence, RI 02903
Phone: 401-444-7237 • email: AGarcia3@lifespan.org