INNATE IMMUNITY: ELUCIDATION/MODULATION – CANCER THERAPY
Michael Caligiuri, MD, lead investigator – Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology. The NIH’s National Cancer Institute awarded a second PPG of $10 million for five years to help this research team further study and manipulate the human body’s innate ability to battle cancer. The original PPG, funded in 2002 for $9.5 million, involved four interactive projects separately led by Caligiuri; John Byrd, MD; William Carson II , MD; and Susheela Tridandapani, PhD. This PPG also involves three research cores separately led by Caligiuri; David Jarjoura, PhD; and Natarajan Muthusamy, DVM, PhD. Other co-investigators are Robert Baiocchi, MD, PhD, and Rossana Trotta, PhD.
IN CANCER DNA METHYLATION & CHROMATIN MODIFICATIONS: MECHANISMS & APPLICATIONS IN CANCER
Samson Jacob, PhD, program director – Department of Molecular & Cellular Biochemistry. The objective of this five-year, $11.84 million PPG is to advance basic understanding of the epigenetic regulation of gene expression in cancer cells and translate the basic discovery of molecular mechanisms into clinical trials in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The initiative involves five interactive projects, including four basic and one clinical. The basic-science projects are led by Christoph Plass, PhD; Jacob; Mark Parthun, PhD; and Saïd Sif, PhD. John Byrd, MD, leads the clinical project. Michael Grever, MD, is co-director of the PPG.
GENETIC ANALYSIS OF THE BREAST TUMOR MICROENVIRONMENT
Michael Ostrowski, PhD, program director – Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry. This five-year, $8.6 million PPG uses human genetic approaches and mouse genetic models to study how non-tumor cells in direct contact with tumor cells help cancer progress. Research focuses on the tumor microenvironment in breast cancer progression, but findings may apply to any cancer of epithelial tissue. Ostrowski and co-investigator Gustavo Leone, PhD, are building on their earlier research that provided one of the first microenvironment genetic models of the complex multistep process leading to breast cancer.
DISCOVERY OF ANTICANCER AGENTS OF DIVERSE NATURAL ORIGIN
A. Douglas Kinghorn, PhD, program director – College of Pharmacy, Division of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy. This five-year, $7 million PPG will help scientists at Ohio State and other institutions discover chemicals in tropical rainforest plants, as well as in cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) and fungi, that can be developed as cancer chemotherapeutic agents, particularly for tumors that are currently incurable. The PPG funds three related projects. One is led by Kinghorn and co-leader Esperanza Carcache de Blanco, PhD, of the College of Pharmacy at Ohio State. Other Ohio State investigators are David Jarjoura, PhD, and Fred Cope, PhD.
Integrated Cancer Biology Program (ICBP) Collaborative Agreement
INTERROGATING EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN CANCER GENOMES
Tim Hui-Ming Huang, PhD, program director – Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics. This $7.4 million project is studying two chemical and structural changes throughout the human genome that appear linked to many types of cancer. The grant is one of only nine awarded in 2004 by the National Cancer Institute to foster research that takes a collaborative and mathematically grounded approach to basic science projects that could impact patient care. The four constituent projects are led by Huang, Shili Lin, PhD, and Ramana Davuluri, PhD.
Specialized Center Grants
REDUCING CERVICAL CANCER IN APPALACHIA
Electra Paskett, PhD, MPSH, program director – College of Public Health, Epidemiology Division. The objective of this $7.5 million, five-year center grant from the National Cancer Institute is to conduct two interventions aimed at reducing cervical cancer rates and also to examine strains of human papillomavirus (HPV) among women in Appalachia. Project leaders include Paskett, Mary Ellen Wewers, PhD, MPH, RN, and Kimberly Kelly, PhD.
SPECIALIZED CENTER OF RESEARCH (SCOR): EXPERIMENTAL THERAPEUTICS IN CLL
John Byrd, MD, program director – Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology. This five-year, $6.25 million SCOR grant from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society focuses on chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), especially in patients at high risk due to a genetic abnormality. The project involves preclinical (basic science) and clinical investigations of multitargeted therapies. The team is composed of four interactive groups. Project leaders are Byrd, Michael Grever, MD, Michael Freitas, PhD, and Ching-Shih Chen, PhD.
Core Grants
OSU COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTER SUPPORT GRANT (OSUCCC)
Michael Caligiuri, MD, program director – Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology. The goal of the OSUCCC is to reduce cancer morbidity and mortality through basic, translational and clinical research. This $19.2 million NCI Grant, subject to competitive renewal every five years, finances OSUCCC leadership and administration, as well as several shared resources that facilitate collaboration among researchers.
OSU NEUROSCIENCE CORE
John Oberdick, PhD, program director – Department of Neuroscience, Center for Molecular Neurobiology. This core funding from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) enhances investigator access to animal model systems at Ohio State. The aims are to support NINDS-funded research projects, facilitate interactive projects among principal investigators and facilitate interaction among basic and translational researchers.
Other Large Research Grants Active in 2007
Rebecca Jackson, MD, principal investigator (PI) – Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism. A two-year grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute for a “Genomewide Association Study to Identify Genetic Components of Hip Fracture,” 2007 funding $2.16 million. Also, a seven-year grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to support “Clinical Centers for the Osteoarthritis Initiative,” 2007 funding $1.18 million.
Susan Koletar, MD, PI – Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases. A six-year grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to support “The Ohio State University AIDS Clinical Trials Unit,” 2007 funding $1.33 million.
E. Antonio Chiocca, MD, PhD, PI – Department of Neurological Surgery. A five-year grant from the Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy for “Development of an Oncolytic Virus with Prodrug- Activating Gene Therapy,” 2007 funding $1 million.
Michael Caligiuri, MD, PI – Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology. A six-year grant from the National Cancer Institute to support the “Cancer and Leukemia Group B – Leukemia Correlative Science,” 2007 funding $994,868.
Wendy Frankel, MD, PI – Department of Pathology. A cooperative agreement from the National Cancer Institute to support a “Cooperative Human Tissue Network” at Ohio State, 2007 funding $865,160.
Stephen Wilson, PhD, PI – School of Allied Medical Professions. A two-year grant from the Army Medical Resources & Materiel Command to support the “Indiana-Ohio Center for Traumatic Amputation Rehabilitation Research: Phase II,” 2007 funding $798,948.
Leona Ayers, MD, PI – Department of Pathology. A six-year grant from the National Cancer Institute for a “Cooperative Tissue Bank of HIV-Positive Malignancies,” 2007 funding $729,610.
Joel Saltz, MD, PhD, PI – Department of Biomedical Informatics. A one-year grant of $600,000 from Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc. for “caGrid Developer-Task Order 12.”
Michael Grever, MD, PI – Department of Internal Medicine. A 10-year grant from the National Cancer Institute for “Phase I Clinical Trials of Anticancer Agents,” 2007 funding $596,978.
Scott Jewell, PhD, PI – Department of Pathology. A six-year grant from the University of Chicago to provide “Cancer and Leukemia Group B Pathology Coordinating Office Base Funding,” 2007 funding $590,021.
Joanna Groden, PhD, PI – Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics. A four-year grant from the National Cancer Institute for “Mouse Models of Gastrointestinal Cancer,” 2007 funding $569,568.
Michael Pereira, PhD, PI – Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology. A pair of four-year grants from the National Cancer Institute for “Preclinical Efficacy and Intermediate Biomarker Assays,” combined 2007 funding $961,393.
Clara D. Bloomfield, MD, PI – Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology. A five-year grant from the National Cancer Institute for “Cancer and Leukemia Group B – The Ohio State University,” 2007 funding $434,962.