February 2, 2015 — A total of $1 million has been awarded to four teams of cancer researchers from Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) to encourage accelerated or elevated collaboration and innovation among SU2C-supported researchers. Each team receiving a grant of $250,000 comprises two researchers from SU2C Dream Teams or research grants, different institutions, different research interests, and even different continents.
“From the beginning, Stand Up To Cancer has striven to break down silos, encourage collaboration, and bring together the best research that will benefit cancer patients,” said Phillip A. Sharp, PhD, chairman of SU2C’s Scientific Advisory Committee and a holder of the Nobel Prize for his research in genetics. “These awards will help bring us closer to the day we defeat cancer.”
The award program was established in 2014 by SU2C in Sharp’s honor due to his keen interest in team research. The Phillip A. Sharp Innovation in Collaboration Awards are intended to reward new levels of collaboration and to pursue innovation derived from research already underway.
A unique aspect of the program is its extremely prompt consideration process. The entire process took place within the SU2C Scientific Summit held in Santa Monica, California, Jan. 26-29, which brought together almost 100 scientists participating in SU2C-supported research. They were invited to submit abstracts for additional collaborative research to a committee of senior scientists.
In contrast to the elaborate proposals usually needed to obtain funding from any source, these initial proposals for the Sharp Awards were limited to 250 words each.
A committee headed by Arnold Levine, PhD, vice chairperson of the SU2C Scientific Advisory Committee and professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, considered the proposals at a meeting early Thursday, Jan. 29, and announced its decisions at lunchtime. He invoked the memory of Laura Ziskin, the movie producer who was one of the co-founders of SU2C and battled breast cancer for seven years before her death.
“It’s really pretty simple,” Levine told the assembled researchers. “You have to come to the meeting, ideas bubble up and cross-germinate, and you have to collaborate. This was Laura Ziskin’s dream, that science move swiftly.”
Sharing the $1 million in Sharp Award funding in equal allocations of $250,000 to support research over a one- to two-year period are:
Hans Clevers, MD, PhD
University of Utrecht
SU2C-Dutch Cancer Society Tumor Organoids Dream Team Leader
and
David Tuveson, MD, PhD
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SU2C Scientific Advisory Committee
“Development of a high-throughput method to screen drugs with organoids”
Adolfo Ferrando, MD, PhD
Columbia University Medical Center
2011 SU2C Innovative Research Grantee (IRG)
and
Kimberly Stegmaier, MD
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
2009 SU2C Innovative Research Grantee (IRG)
“Targeting epigenetic plasticity and drug resistance in pediatric cancer”
Owen Witte, MD
Broad Stem Cell Research Center, University of California, Los Angeles
SU2C-Prostate Cancer Foundation 2 Prostate Cancer Dream Team Co-Leader
and
Padmanee Sharma, MD, PhD
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
SU2C-Cancer Research Institute Cancer Immunology Dream Team Member
“Identification and analysis of prostate reactive TCRs for T-cell mediated adoptive cellular immunotherapy of metastatic prostate cancer”
Yali Dou, PhD
University of Michigan
2011 SU2C Innovative Research Grantee (IRG)
and
Mei Kong, PhD
Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope
2011 SU2C Innovative Research Grantee (IRG)
“Cross-talk between histone H3K4 mono-methylation and cancer metabolism to explore new therapeutic strategies”
The successful teams will submit more detailed proposals and budgets to SU2C’s Scientific Advisory Committee as part of the oversight process managed by SU2C’s Scientific Partner, the American Association for Cancer Research.
About Stand Up To Cancer
Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) raises funds to accelerate the pace of research to get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives now. SU2C, a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, was established in 2008 by film and media leaders who utilize the industry’s resources to engage the public in supporting a new, collaborative model of cancer research, and to increase awareness about cancer prevention as well as progress being made in the fight against the disease. As SU2C’s scientific partner, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and the Scientific Advisory Committee led by Dr. Sharp conduct rigorous, competitive review processes to identify the best research proposals to recommend for funding, oversee grants administration, and provide expert review of research progress.
About the American Association for Cancer Research
Founded in 1907, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world’s oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research and its mission to prevent and cure cancer. AACR membership includes more than 33,000 laboratory, translational, and clinical researchers; population scientists; other health care professionals; and cancer advocates residing in 101 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 over 18,000 attendees. In addition, the AACR publishes eight 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 team science and individual grants in cancer research that have the potential for near-term patient benefit. The AACR actively communicates with legislators and policymakers about the value of cancer research and related biomedical science in saving lives from cancer. For more information about the AACR, visit http://www.AACR.org.
Media Contacts:
Rubenstein Communications
Robin Verges
rverges@rubenstein.com
212-843-8075
Entertainment Industry Foundation/Stand Up To Cancer
Jane Rubinstein
jrubinstein@eifoundation.org
646-386-7969