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Inter-Center Laboratories for Training Opportunities and Collaborative Visits for Junior Investigators
Only junior investigators associated with NCI sponsored programs, the Integrative Cancer Biology Program and the Tumor Microenvironment Program, are eligible to participate in this program.
Background
The mission of the Division of Cancer Biology (DCB) of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) is to ensure continuity and stability in basic cancer research, while encouraging and facilitating the emergence of new ideas, concepts, technologies and identification of roadblocks that limit the progress of research. DCB achieves these goals by promoting a balance between the continued support of existing research areas and selective support of emerging research areas or experimental tools. The expansion of new research areas is encouraged through a range of workshops, initiatives and funding mechanisms sponsored by the DCB.
Among the various initiatives within the DCB, are the Integrative Cancer Biology Program (ICBP) and the Tumor Microenvironment Network (TMEN):
The ICBP initiative focuses on the analysis of cancer as a complex biological system. The program brings clinical and basic cancer researchers together with researchers from mathematics, physics, information technology, imaging sciences, and computer science to work on key questions in cancer biology. The ICBP strives to develop this field through several approaches: (1) the establishment of training programs for junior investigators to provide a foundation in the integrative disciplines, (2) the exposure of junior investigators to techniques within the disciplines of the integrative/systems biology field which their formal training may not have included, and (3) the dissemination of active and gained knowledge through an extensive outreach program.
The TMEN initiative is directed at (1) developing critical resources and reagents, (2) developing novel technologies, (3) training of young investigators as well as investigators new to the field, and (4) outreach activities to ensure dissemination of such resources and technologies to the broader research community. It is intended that such an infrastructure will not only establish repositories of critical reagents, resources, and information, but also promote and facilitate interdisciplinary collaborations and progress in understanding the role of host stroma in tumorigenesis.
Overview
To enhance the training aspects of junior investigators who are entering the fields of integrative cancer biology or tumor microenvironment, the NCI-ICBP and TMEN offer a training initiative designated as “Inter-Center Training Opportunities and Collaborative Visits for Junior Investigators” (referred to in this document as “exchange program”).
Junior investigators (e.g., postdoctoral fellows, research associates and other junior scientists) within the ICBP and TMEN consortia, will benefit from the exchange program by having opportunities to master and exchange techniques and/or analyze series of samples, tasks that could not otherwise be performed in their “home” laboratory settings. Further, the exchange program would provide cross-fertilization of ideas about the multi and diverse disciplines which are embedded in the fields of integrative cancer biology (e.g., cancer biology, computational modeling, data integration and mathematics) and tumor microenvironment (e.g., mechanisms of tumor-stroma interactions, composition of the stroma in normal tissues, role in tumor initiation, progression, and metastasis).
Junior investigators will be paired with a participating ICBP or TMEN Center based on their research interests and needs. Through hands-on laboratory work, mathematical and computational modeling, seminars, journal clubs, and informal discussions, the junior investigators will gain a broader understanding and appreciation of major questions currently under investigation as well as the novel approaches being used within the ICBP and TMEN Centers.
Two unique features, pertinent to the ICBP consortium need to be underscored: (1) Members and associates of the nine ICBP Centers are pioneers in the utilization of integrated experimental biology using mathematical and computational modeling to gain new insights into the biology and management of cancer. The ultimate goal of the ICBP program is to integrate the knowledge gained from individual research areas or scales, and then to apply the multi-scale information to detection, prevention and treatment of the cancer disease. (2) The multi-scale approach to the cancer problem requires a cadre of experts; the required expertise and resources reside in each of the nine ICBP Centers thus each Center is uniquely qualified to act as a participating “host” laboratory.
Similarly, a unique feature pertinent to the TMEN network needs to be highlighted: Members and associates in the nine TMEN Centers form a cadre of experts in this new, multi-disciplinary field. The areas of expertise required in this program include pathology, cancer biology, cell biology, oncology, bioengineering, and bioinformatics. The investigators in the individual TMEN programs focus on defining mechanisms of tumor-stroma interactions, as well as on studying the normal tissue microenvironment, as a pre-requisite for understanding the microenvironment of wounded tissues and tumor tissues.
Participating ‘host” Centers
A list of participating ICBP “host” Centers can be found in Appendix A; participating TMEN “host” Centers are listed in Appendix B.
Purpose of the Program:
The NCI intends the exchange program will the benefit of the entire cancer biology research community as it will generate a nucleus of junior investigators who will help seed the fields of integrative cancer biology and tumor microenvironment, benefiting cancer research throughout the United States by expanding the number of investigators in these under-studied areas.
Description
The program supports visits of one to six weeks in duration to a “host” ICBP or TMEN Center. The purpose of the visit would provide junior investigators opportunities to master and exchange techniques and/or analyze series of samples, tasks that could not otherwise carried out in their “home” laboratory. Further, the collaborative visits would provide a cross-fertilization of ideas pertaining to the multi and diverse disciplines which comprise the field of integrative cancer biology (e.g., cancer biology, computational modeling, data integration and mathematics) or tumor microenvironment (e.g., mechanisms of tumor-stroma interactions, composition of the stroma in normal tissues, role in tumor initiation, progression, and metastasis).
Eligibility
Application to the NCI-ICBP/TMEN Inter-Center Training Opportunities and Collaborative Visits for Junior Investigators is open to postdoctoral fellows, research associates and other junior scientists who are currently associated with an ICBP or TMEN Center. A junior investigator is not eligible to apply to this program if he/she presently holds or has previously held independent funding.
Award
For each collaborative visit, the selected junior investigator will receive a housing allowance up to $100 per day for a duration of one to six weeks. Travel to and from the “host” research laboratory will be covered up to $600. International travel will be considered on an individual basis.
Application and Submission Process
1. The Principal Investigator (PI) of a “home” ICBP or TMEN Center should:
- identify a junior investigator to participate in the exchange program
- identify and discuss a proposed project with the PI of a “host” Center
- obtain the “host” PI’s approval of the project and the time of visit
2. Junior investigators may initiate requests to participate in the exchange program by discussing possible projects and “host” Center laboratories with the PI of their "home" Center.
3. After the Junior Investigator has obtained approval of both the “home” and “host” PIs, he/she should:
- prepare a one to two page written proposal describing the purpose of the exchange
- complete the application form (please access the form at: http://web.ncifcrf.gov/careers/Jr_Invest)
- The proposal and application form should be submitted online at http://web.ncifcrf.gov/careers/Jr_Invest
4. Proposals may be submitted any time during the year; there are no deadlines for submissions.
Selection Process and Award Notification
- Proposals will be reviewed by a Committee composed of members of the ICBP – Education Committee, representatives from the TMEN program, NCI staff and a representative of SAIC-Frederick.
- Acceptance into the exchange program will be announced in a timely fashion.
APPENDIX A
ICBP Centers
Broad Institute/Dana-Farber
Principal Investigator: Todd Golub, M.D.
Caritas St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center
Principal Investigator: Lynn Hlatky, Ph.D.
Website: http://www.cancer-systems-biology.org/index.html?/opportunities
Columbia University
Principal Investigator: Andrea Califano, Ph.D.
Website: http://magnet.c2b2.columbia.edu/
E. O. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Principal Investigator: Joe W. Gray, Ph.D.
Website: http://icbp.lbl.gov/index.htm
Georgetown University
Principal Investigator: Robert Clarke, Ph.D.
Website: http://clarkelabs.georgetown.edu/web/res_robert.php
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Principal Investigator: Doug Lauffenburger, Ph.D.
Website: http://web.mit.edu/icbp/
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Principal Investigator: Chris Sander, Ph.D.
Website: http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/11655.cfm
Methodist Hospital Research Institute
Principal Investigator: Stephen Wong, Ph.D.
Website: http://www.methodisthealth.com/tmhri.cfm?id=38355
The Ohio State University
Principal Investigator: Tim H-M Huang, Ph.D.
Websites: http://motif.bmi.ohio-state.edu/ccsb/
http://bioinformatics.med.ohio-state.edu/
Sage Bionetworks
Principal Investigator: Stephen Friend, M.D., Ph.D.
Website: http://www.sagebase.org/research/index.php
Stanford University School of Medicine
Principal Investigator: Sylvia Plevritis, Ph.D.
Website: http://icbp.stanford.edu
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Principal Investigator: Vito Quaranta, M.D.
Website: http://vicbc.vanderbilt.edu/vicbc/
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APPENDIX B
TMEN Centers
Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University
Project title: Novel Methods for Detection Cell Interactions in the Tumor Microenvironment
Principal Investigator: John S. Condeelis, Ph.D.
Tel. 718-430-4068
Baylor College of Medicine
Project title: Co-evolution of the Reactive Microenvironment in Prostate Cancer Progression
Principal Investigator: David R. Rowley, Ph.D.
Tel. 713-798-6220
Columbia University Medical Center, Irving Cancer Center
Project title: The Role of Inflammation and Stroma in Digestive Cancers
Principal Investigator: Timothy C. Wang, M.D.
Tel. 212-851-4581
Dana Farber Cancer Institute
Project title: TMEN Genomics and Bioinformatics Core
Principal Investigator: Lynda Chin, MD
Tel. 617-632-6091
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Project title: Bioengineering 3-D Models for Breast Cancer Therapy
Principal Investigator: Mina Bissell, Ph.D.
Tel. 510-486-4365
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Project title: Tumor Microenvironment Interactions in Brain Tumors
Principal Investigator: Eric C. Holland, M.D., Ph.D.
Tel. 212-639-3017
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Project title: Tumor-Stroma Interactions in the Tumor Microenvironment
Principal Investigator: Richard Hynes, Ph.D.
Tel. 617-253-6422
Stanford University School of Medicine
Project title: Molecular and Functional Characterization of Colon Tumor Cancer Stem Cells and Stroma
Principal Investigator: Michael F. Clarke, M.D.
Tel. 650-725-4866
University of Washington School of Medicine
Project title: Significance of Microenvironment for Prostate Cancer Initiation and Progression
Principal Investigator: Stephen R. Plymate, M.D.
Tel. 206-341-4504
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Project title: Paracrine TGF-Beta Signaling in Tumor Initiation and Progression
Principal Investigator: Lynn M. Matrisian, Ph.D.
Tel. 615-343-3413
