|
Funding obtained from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) has enabled the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center to establish a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence Cobre in the area of cancer research. The focus of this Cobre is upon identification of signaling proteins that are associated with the etiology of cancer. Five research projects are led by junior faculty members who study different aspects of signal transduction in cancer. To facilitate this program, the Cobre is led by a steering committee of experienced, senior investigators and an external advisory committee. In addition, the Cobre supports two core facilities in Proteomics/Mass Spectrometry and Flow Cytometry. We predict that in the future, treatment for cancer will be customized to an individual’s tumor, based on the unique profile and activity of signaling proteins in their tumor. To facilitate this, the NCRR approved and funded an additional equipment grant that enabled our group to obtain two mass spectrometers. Based on an analysis of tissue biopsies obtained from patients with known outcomes and treatments, proteomic profiles will be developed that may assist physicians in prescribing the optimal treatment strategy for a patient.
Administrative core
PI: Daniel C. Flynn, PhD – Associate Director for Basic Research, Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center
Steve Frisch, PhD – Professor, Biochemistry and MBRCC Program Leader, Signaling Networks
Laura Gibson, PhD – Professor, Pediatrics and MBRCC Program Leader, Tumor Microenvironment
Scot Remick, MD – Professor, Medicine and Director, Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center
Cobre External Advisors
Donald “Skip” Trump, MD, President and CEO Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY
Candace Johnson, Senior Vice President for Translational Research Professor of Molecular Pharmacology, Buffalo, NY.
Anton Wellstein,MD/PhD, Division Chief of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Professor, Department of Oncology, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
Cobre Participants
| Project #1, “Caveolin and endothelial cell migration” |
Jun Liu, PhD |
| Project #2, “Bioinformatics and molecular classifiers” |
Lan Guo, PhD |
| Project #3, “Cortactin and Head & Neck cancer” |
Scott Weed, PhD |
| Project #4, “Sumoylation and epigenetics” |
Alexey Ivanov, PhD |
| Project #5, “Myosin II and cancer cell migration” |
Rob Wysolmerski, PhD |
| Project (#6) “Hef-1/Ajuba regulates Aurora kinases” |
Elena Pugacheva, PhD |
Cobre Established Core Facilities
| Proteomics core facility |
Pete Perrotta, MD |
| Flow Cytometry Core facility |
Chris Cuff, PhD |
| Imaging Core facility |
Karen Martin, PhD |
| Biostatistics & Bioinformatics |
Jim Harner, PhD |
Progress Report
Summary:
Review: CoBRE grants are designed to promote research competitiveness for research universities that reside in states that have less than $100M in total federal funding. CoBRE grants are funded in two phases. Phase I (years 1-5) provide funds to support junior faculty research projects while they are in pursuit of independent funding. CoBRE funds also support core facilities that provide infrastructure support to the junior faculty as well as mentors who help guide the junior faculty in their efforts to write competitive research proposals. Phase II define years 6-10 and allow continued support for junior faculty; however, as junior faculty graduate, NCRR encourage that the awards be used to bring together a team of researchers who may become competitive for P01 or equivalent funding.
Phase I (2001-2006) provided funds to initiate a Proteomics core facility and support for our Flow Cytometry core facility. In addition, 5 junior faculty research projects were supported, with some faculty becoming independent. During Phase I, 7/9 supported faculty obtained some level of funding, while the two unsuccessful faculty were put in charge of other core facilities that support our overall mission.
| Table 1. Results of Phase I CoBRE funding, years 1-4 |
CoBRE Junior Faculty
(CoBRE support
status) |
Agency |
Direct costs |
Time |
Assignment # |
Status |
Pub’s |
Bing-Hua Jiang, PhD
(Graduated &
Independent) |
NIH
ACS
AHA
NIH
NIH
NIH |
$875,000
$600,000
$100,000
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
$100,000 |
5 Years
4 Years
2 Years
5 Years
5 Years
2 Years |
R01-CA109460-1
04-076-01-TBE
none
R01-CA112014-01
R01-CA109453-01
R03 -CA123675-01 |
Active 2006-2011
Active 2004-2008
completed (2005)
In revision
In revision
Active 2006-2008 |
26 |
Quentin Li, MD/PhD
(Graduated, Left WVU) |
NIH
NIH
Corporate
NIH |
$1,000,000
$250,000
$300,000
$1,000,000 |
5 Years
2 Years
2 Years
5 Years |
R01-CA 96606-01
R21-CA107170-01
None
R01-CA118746-01 |
Not Funded
Not Funded
Active 2005-2007
Not Funded |
31 |
Aaron Timperman, PhD
(Graduated & Independent) |
NSF
DoD
WV State
NIH
NIH |
$375,000
$1,500,000
$1,700,000
$1,000,000
$1,000,000 |
3 Years
3 Years
8 Years
5 Years
5 Years |
OCE-0453737
N00014-03-0-0815
RCG0306
R01-GM 63000-01
R01-GM 071699-01 |
Active 2005-2007
Active 2004-2007
Active 2001-2009
In revision
In revision |
7 |
Weixin Wang, PhD
(Graduated & Independent) |
NIH
NIH
Fannie
Rippel |
$100,000
$1,000,000
$100,000 |
2 Years
5 Years
2 Years |
R03-CA107979-01
R01-CA114074-01A1
none |
Active 2004-2006
In revision
Active 2004-2006 |
2 |
Tim Vincent, PhD
(Graduated & left WVU) |
NIH |
$100,000 |
2 Years |
R03-CA112653-01 |
Active 2005-2007 |
9 |
Grazyna Szklarz, PhD
(Graduated & Re-assigned) |
NIH
ACS
NIH |
$1,000,000
$375,000
$150,000 |
5 Years
5 Years
3 Years |
RO1-DE 014578-03
K22-DE14364-03
R15 GM079724-01 |
Not Funded
Not Funded
Active |
5 |
Solveig Ericson, MD/PhD
(Graduated & Re-assigned) |
NIH
Pharma |
$260,000
$38,000 |
2 Years
2 Years |
R21-CA 103037-01
none |
Not Funded
Active 2005-2006 |
8 |
Current status of faculty supported during Phase I CoBRE funding: |
| CoBRE Junior Faculty |
Position |
Funding |
Bing-Hua Jiang, PhD |
Associate Professor with tenure, Microbiology and MBRCC |
Active R01 and R03. Pending R01 (24%, to be re-submitted as an A1). |
| Quentin Li, MD/PhD |
Associate Research Scientist, Long Range Pharmaceuticals, China |
Pharma funding, expired |
| Aaron Timperman, PhD |
Associate Professor with tenure, Chemistry. MBRCC member. |
Active NSF, DoD |
| Weixin Wang, PhD |
Assistant Professor, left WVU. |
NCE of Fannie Rippel |
Tim Vincent, PhD |
Senior scientist |
R21 grant, expired. |
| Grazyna Szklarz, |
Associate Professor with tenure, Pharmacy. MBRCC member. Assoc. Director Molecular Modeling core. |
R15 |
| Solveig Ericson, MD/PhD |
Medical Fellow, Novartis |
Phase II and II clinical trials, still active, re-assigned to Mike Craig |
Year 5 of Phase I, and Year 6 of Phase II report. At the end of year four, we added 4 new faculty, with the 5th one being continued from year four (Jun Liu). Thus, all 5 original faculty were graduated from CoBRE funding by the end of year 4. These 5 new faculty members formed a team that was included in our Phase II application. At the end of Year 4, the following faculty were supported by CoBRE funding:
Table 3. Status of CoBRE faculty during Year 5 (2005-2006), who were included in Phase II renewal. |
CoBRE Junior Faculty
(CoBRE support
status) |
Agency |
Direct costs |
Time |
Assignment # |
Status |
Pub’s |
Yehenew Agazie, PhD
(Active) |
NIH
DoD |
$875,000
$600,000 |
5 Years
4 Years |
R01-CA108722-01A1
BC050109 |
Funded
In Revision |
3 |
Lan Guo, PhD
(Active) |
NSF
Corporate
ACS
ALA
NIH |
$375,000
$250,000
$600,000
$400,000
$750,000 |
3 Years
3 Years
4 Years
4 Years
5 Years |
0508146
none
RSG CCE-111982
Unassigned
R01LM009500-01 |
Active 2005-2007
Active 2004-2007
Active 2001-2009
In revision
In revision |
5 |
Christian Stehlik, PhD
(Active) |
NIH
NIH
Concern
Foundat’n
DoD
NIH
NIH |
$250,000
$100,000
$100,000
$375,000
$1,000,000
$1,000,000 |
2 Years
2 Years
2 Years
3 Years
5 Years
5 Years |
1R21-AI067680-01
1R03AI067806-01
None
BC051004
R01-CA114023-01
R01-GM071723-01 A1 |
Funded
Funded
Funded
In revision
In revision
Funded
| 3 |
Scott Weed, PhD
(Active) |
NIH
NIH
NIH |
$1,000,000
$375,000
$1,000,000 |
5 Years
5 Years
5 Years |
RO1- DE 014578-03
K22 DE14364-03
Unassigned |
Active 2003-2008
Active 2002-2006
Pending |
2 |
Jun Liu, MD/PhD
(Active) |
NIH
ACS |
$700,000
$600,000 |
4 years
4 Years |
R01-CA111875-01 A2 |
Not Funded |
5 |
Chuan Hu, PhD
(Active) |
AHA
ACS
NIH |
$260,000
$720,000
$1,000,000 |
4 Years
4 Years
5 Years |
0535142N
RSG-CSM-110795
Unassigned |
Active 2005-2009
Pending
In preparation |
3 |
Ramin Altaha, MD
(Active) |
Local
NIH |
$10,000
$200,000 |
1 Year
2 Years |
Unassigned
Unassigned |
Funded
In preparation |
1 |
* - Indicates papers published during CoBRE support period, only.
Phase II was approved for funding in September of 2006. Funding came later than our July 1, 2006 requested start data and although full funding was given, it was given for 9 months (thus, $1.5M awarded for 9 months rather than 12 months). Extra funds were used to obtain a new confocal microscope, purchase small equipment for faculty and to support one-half of a technician in the transgenic animal core. Phase II (year 6) included the following faculty: Jun Liu (3rd year), Christian Stehlik (2nd year), Lan Guo (2nd year), Scott Weed (2nd year) and Yehenew Agazie (2nd year). During this phase Christian Stehlik obtained four grants (R01, R03, R21 and Concern Foundation) and was graduated. Yehenew Agazie obtained an R01 and was graduated. Below are tables that summarize progress:
Current Status of Year 5 investigators |
| CoBRE Junior Faculty |
Position |
Funding |
Yehenew Agazie, PhD
(Graduated) |
Assistant Professor, Biochemistry. MBRCC member |
R01 |
Lan Guo, PhD
(Active) |
Res. Asst. Professor, Dept. Comm. Medicine |
CoBRE |
Christian Stehlik, PhD
(graduated) |
Assistant Professor (moved to Northwestern Univ.) |
R01, R03, R21, Concern Foundation |
Scott Weed, PhD
(Active) |
Associate Professor with tenure, Anatomy. |
R01, CoBRE |
Jun Liu, MD/PhD
(Active) |
Associate Professor with tenure, Physiology. |
CoBRE |
Chuan Hu, PhD
(moved) |
Res. Asst. Professor, (moved to U. Kentucky) |
AHA |
Ramin Altaha, MD
(Active) |
Asst. Professor, clinical track, Dept. of Medicine |
Pharma, Foundation |
Proposed current CoBRE supported faculty.
In Administration, we add the new MBRCC Director, Scot Remick, MD. The rationale for this is that he is laying out a plan to achieve NCI designation and the CoBRE should be aligned with this plan.
In Core facilities, we request review and suggestions for ongoing support and we present the Microscopy and Imaging core as another shared resource facility that could be considered for support.
For CoBRE supported faculty, we report graduation of two faculty this past year (Dr. Agazie and Dr. Stehlik) and we replace them with Dr. Ivanov and Dr. Wysolmerski.
Proposed CoBRE supported investigators, Year 7 |
| Active CoBRE Faculty |
Position |
Funding |
| Administration |
Dan Flynn, PhD
(Admin Core #9)
|
Professor, Microbiology, MBRCC Deputy Director. |
R01, CDC, CoBRE, Pardee, NIH sub |
Steve Frisch, PhD
(Admin Core #9)
|
Professor, Biochemistry, MBRCC Signaling Networks program director |
R01, CoBRE |
Laura Gibson, PhD
(Admin Core #9)
|
Professor Pediatrics, MBRCC Tumor Microenvironment program director |
R01, CoBRE |
Scot Remick, MD
Admin Core #9)
|
Professor, Medicine, MBRCC Director |
U01, Pharma, CoBRE |
| Cores |
Chris Cuff, PhD
(Core #6)
|
Associate Professor, Flow Cytometry Core Facility |
R01/NCE, CoBRE |
Peter Perrotta
(Core #7)
|
Asst. Professor, Pathology and Proteomics Core Director |
EPA, CoBRE |
Jim Harner, PhD
(Core #8)
|
Professor and Chair, Statistics, and Biostatistics core director. |
WVBPH/CDC, CoBRE |
Karen Martin, PhD
(Project #9)
|
Res. Asst. Professor, Imaging Core Facility |
CoBRE |
| Jr. Faculty |
Lan Guo, PhD
(
Project #1)
|
Res. Asst. Professor, Dept. Comm. Medicine |
CoBRE |
Scott Weed, PhD
(
Project #2)
|
Associate Professor with tenure, Anatomy. |
R01, CoBRE |
Alexey Ivanov, PhD
(
Project #3)
|
Res. Assistant Professor |
CoBRE |
Jun Liu, MD/PhD
(Project #4)
|
Associate Professor with tenure, Physiology. |
CoBRE (phase-out) |
Rob Wysolmerski, PhD
(
Project #5)
|
Professor, Anatomy. |
R01 NCE, CoBRE |
Elena Pugacheva, PhD
(
Project # 6)
|
Asst. Professor, Biochemistry |
HSC Startup, CoBRE |
|
