Newswise — PHILADELPHIA — Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) and the Cancer Research Institute (CRI), along with the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), call upon the cancer research community to submit Letters of Intent for a new Dream Team — the SU2C-CRI Cancer Immunology Translational Research Dream Team.
Significant scientific developments in the field of cancer immunology and the recent FDA approvals of two cancer immunotherapies highlight the field’s potential to transform cancer treatment.
The formation of a Dream Team focused on this promising area of cancer research aligns with CRI’s 60-year mission to advance cancer immunology and SU2C’s mission to accelerate translation of scientific discovery into new treatments for cancer patients.
The SU2C-CRI Cancer Immunology Translational Research Dream Team Grant will provide funding of $6 million over a three-year period for translational cancer research projects that address laboratory and clinical efforts leading to the immunological treatment, control and prevention of cancer. Projects should also deliver near-term patient benefit through investigation by a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional, synergistic Dream Team of expert investigators.
In addition, these projects may include the identification of inflammatory/immune pathways involved in cancer initiation, progression, dissemination and responsiveness to therapy and their targeting by therapeutic approaches such as vaccines, antibodies, adoptive cell transfer, cytokines and other molecularly targeted therapeutics.
Deadline: Letters of Intent must be submitted by 12:00 p.m. (noon) ET on Monday, April 9, 2012. The SU2C-CRI Cancer Immunology Translational Research Dream Team is scheduled to be announced in September.
To maximize creativity, innovation and collaboration, the Dream Team must include laboratory and clinical researchers, senior and/or young investigators and senior scientists who have not worked together in the past, as well as patient advocates. Mechanisms to foster collaboration within and among the Dream Teams should be employed — an approach that promotes the sharing of information and a goal-oriented focus on measurable milestones of progress.
A SU2C-CRI Joint Scientific Advisory Committee (JSAC) will conduct a unique, interactive, rapid and rigorous evaluation of the applications via a multi-step scientific review process.
The JSAC is composed of highly accomplished senior laboratory researchers and physician-scientists, as well as advocates. The committee is chaired by Nobel Laureate Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D., institute professor at the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It is co-chaired by Giorgio Trinchieri, M.D., and Carl H. June, M.D. Trinchieri is director of the Cancer and Inflammation Program and chief of the Laboratory of Experimental Immunology at the Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, and associate director for basic science at the Trans-NIH Center for Human Immunology. June is director of translational research at the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania, and is an investigator with the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute. He is also a professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.
Since the launch of Stand Up To Cancer in 2008, the AACR has played an integral role as SU2C’s scientific partner by providing scientific leadership, expert peer review and grants administration. The AACR is responsible for administering these grants and provides ongoing scientific oversight to ensure that progress is being made.
• For general information on eligibility criteria, the application process and other details about the SU2C-CRI Cancer Immunology Translational Research Dream Team, please visit: www.aacr.org/SU2CCRI.
• Inquiries may also be directed to the SU2C Grants Office at: (267) 765-1049 or mailto:[email protected].
• Interested applicants should submit Letters of Intent detailing their best ideas for cancer immunology translational research using the proposalCENTRAL website at: https://proposalcenteral.altum.com.
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About Stand Up To CancerStand Up To Cancer (SU2C) — a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization — raises funds to accelerate the pace of groundbreaking translational research that will get new therapies to patients quickly.
SU2C’s “Dream Team” approach to funding translational cancer research enables scientists from different disciplines at research centers across the country and internationally to collaborate on projects geared toward getting new, less toxic treatments to patients as quickly as possible. Monies also support innovative cancer research projects that are often deemed “too risky” by conventional funding sources. Currently, more than 200 scientists from over 60 institutions are involved in SU2C-funded research projects — either as members of Dream Teams or as recipients of Innovative Research Grants. As SU2C’s scientific collaborator, the American Association for Cancer Research, with the leadership of a prestigious SU2C Scientific Advisory Committee, provides scientific oversight, expert peer review of the research projects and grants administration.
Members of the SU2C Executive Leadership Council include Katie Couric; the Entertainment Industry Foundation, represented by Board of Directors Chairperson Sherry Lansing (Founder of the Sherry Lansing Foundation), CEO Lisa Paulsen and Senior Vice President Kathleen Lobb; Rusty Robertson and Sue Schwartz of the Robertson Schwartz Agency; Pam Williams, partner at Laura Ziskin Productions; and nonprofit executive Ellen Ziffren. The late Laura Ziskin, a legendary film producer who executive-produced the 2008 and 2010 SU2C telecasts, was also a co-founder of Stand Up To Cancer.
About the Cancer Research InstituteThe Cancer Research Institute (CRI), a nonprofit established in 1953, is the global leader in cancer immunology. Since its inception, CRI has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to support research conducted by more than 3,000 scientists and clinicians worldwide to understand the immune system and how it can be harnessed to conquer all cancers. This work has laid the foundation for nearly every major cancer immunotherapy breakthrough over the past half century.
Guided by an international panel of the world’s leading immunologists and cancer immunologists, including three Nobel laureates and 29 members of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, CRI provides essential funding to support every stage of discovery, from laboratory investigation to clinical trials of the most promising cancer immunotherapies for patients.
CRI also sponsors a seminal international symposium on cancer immunology each year, hosts annual scientific colloquia dedicated to overcoming challenges in immunotherapy research and development, forges collaborative partnerships between academia and industry to facilitate the development pathway for novel immunotherapeutics and presents special recognition awards to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to cancer research, patient care and public awareness.
Through its sustaining support and leadership in the field, CRI is accelerating the development of safe and effective immunotherapies that stand to revolutionize the treatment of all cancers. For more information, visit http://cancerresearch.org.
About the American Association for Cancer ResearchFounded in 1907, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world’s first and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research and its mission to prevent and cure cancer. AACR’s membership includes 34,000 laboratory, translational and clinical researchers; population scientists; other health care professionals; and cancer advocates residing in more than 90 countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise of the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, biology, diagnosis and treatment of cancer by annually convening more than 20 conferences and educational workshops, the largest of which is the AACR Annual Meeting with more than 18,000 attendees. In addition, the AACR publishes seven peer-reviewed scientific journals and a magazine for cancer survivors, patients and their caregivers. The AACR funds meritorious research directly as well as in cooperation with numerous cancer organizations. As the Scientific Partner of Stand Up To Cancer, the AACR provides expert peer review, grants administration and scientific oversight of individual and team science grants in cancer research that have the potential for patient benefit. The AACR actively communicates with legislators and policy makers about the value of cancer research and related biomedical science in saving lives from cancer.
For more information about the AACR, visit: www.AACR.org.
Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr Follow the AACR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aacr.org
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