Consortium awards $360,000 for pilot studies

The Fred Hutchinson/University of Washington Cancer Consortium has awarded $360,000 in grants for nine pilot projects that support cancer-related research in 2010. Each project receives $40,000.

Consortium awardees, projects:

• Dr. Muneesh Tewari, Human Biology Division, and Dr. Jim Roberts, Basic Sciences Division, “Telomerase-Generated Small RNAs in Breast Cancer
• Dr. Corey Casper, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute, “Human Herpesvirus-8 Replication and HIV Progression in Uganda”
• Dr. Paul Nghiem, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, “A Pharmacodynamic Study of Intratumoral Injection of Interleukin-12 Plasmid and In Vivo Electroporation in Patients with Merkel Cell Carcinoma
• Dr. Johanna Lampe, Public Health Sciences Division, “Metabolomics in Human Studies of Diet”
• Dr. Tobias Hohl, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute, “Visualizing Microbial Eradication During Pulmonary Infection”
• Eve Rodler, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, “Phase 1 Study of ABT-888 in Combination with Cisplatin and Vinorelbine for Patients with Advanced Triple Negative Breast Cancer”
• Savannah Partridge, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, “A Novel Lipophilic Nanoparticle Gadolinium Contrast Agent for Lymphatic Mapping and Characterization by MRI”
• Dr. Nina Salama, Human Biology Division, “Exploring the Role of the Bacterial Microbiome in Esophageal Disease Progression”
• Dr. Carla Grandori, Human Biology Division, “Therapeutic Targets for Myc-Driven Cancers.”

Awarded annually by the Consortium's Cancer Center Support Grant (core grant), the pilot grants are intended to forge new, interdisciplinary cancer research collaborations.

Competition for the next round of Consortium pilot awards for projects beginning in January 2011 will be announced in the fall. All Consortium members are eligible to apply.

The Consortium, a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, is a research collaboration of the Hutchinson Center, UW, Seattle Children's and the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.

For more information on CCSG pilot awards and other funding opportunities, visit the Consortium website.