Discoveries Making a Difference
Earlier this year, UVA Cancer Center launched an internal funding mechanism called the Accelerating Innovation Fund (AIF) to jumpstart the development of new cancer medicines, treatment protocols, screening interventions, and diagnostics at the University of Virginia. The AIF was made possible with support from both the commonwealth and the UVA Cancer Center Director’s Fund—a philanthropically supported discretionary fund that can be allocated to the center’s most urgent initiatives and exciting opportunities. By launching the AIF, UVA Cancer Center has committed $1 million annually to boost its pipeline of translational research projects—those focused on generating new therapies or other tangible benefits for cancer patients. In addition to financial support, AIF awards come with the potential for mentoring from medical and pharmaceutical industry experts who can help UVA scientists and clinicians further develop and disseminate their ideas for broader impact.
After a panel including industry experts reviewed this year’s applications and provided feedback on all proposed projects, inaugural AIF grants of $150,000 to $250,000 were awarded to four multidisciplinary research teams. Each winning team can apply for additional funding during next year’s AIF application cycle.
The Promise of Translational Research
Translational research focuses on synthesizing fundamental scientific insights from the laboratory to develop real-world solutions, including new ways to combat particular diseases and improve patients’ lives. Translational research projects typically require close collaboration between laboratory scientists and clinical professionals who work with a targeted patient population.
For example, one of the four inaugural AIF awards was granted to a team comprising Hui Li, PhD, a professor of pathology who studies cancer’s molecular genetics and epigenetics; Anuradha Illendula, PhD, an assistant professor of research who studies hematology and oncology; and Benjamin Purow, MD, a neuro-oncologist. Together, they are developing a nanotechnology-based intervention for patients with glioblastoma (GBM), the deadliest form of brain cancer. Their intervention targets a GBM oncogene (a gene that causes cancer when mutated) recently discovered by Li. In their comments on the team’s application, the AIF Review Board commended the project’s potential to meet a “huge unmet need…given a lack of approved therapies in GBM” and highlighted its “very promising early results.”
Jill Slack-Davis, PhD, the Cancer Center’s associate director of research development and collaborations, said the fund’s purpose is to support projects with the potential to “advance healthcare through research and innovation to ultimately improve patient outcomes, increase the precision of diagnosis and treatment, and enhance the overall healthcare experience.”
But having a good idea is not enough. “The goal is to cultivate promising new inventions and medical innovations with the potential to get into the marketplace, into clinical trials, and into patients’ hands,” said Slack-Davis.
In addition to the team studying the GBM intervention, this year’s inaugural AIF awards were granted to teams studying (1) a new diagnostic and monitoring technique for colorectal cancer—the second most common cause of cancer death in the United States, (2) an improved immunotherapy for a mantle cell lymphoma—an aggressive and incurable disease, and (3) a precision treatment for metastatic ovarian cancer.
Support for a Growing Biotechnology Enterprise
Slack-Davis said UVA Cancer Center is unique among similar institutions in dedicating funds to entrepreneurial cancer research; however, the AIF is just one of many recent University investments in biomedical research and development to help revolutionize healthcare.
Perhaps the most explicit demonstration of the concerted efforts to build UVA’s potential for biomedical innovation is the Paul and Diane Manning Institute of Biotechnology, a new biomedical research and manufacturing facility on UVA Grounds made possible with a $100 million donation from the Mannings and substantial investments from the University and the Commonwealth of Virginia. With state-of-the-art technology and space for collaborative translational research targeting the most pressing diseases of our time, from cancer to Alzheimer’s and diabetes, this new institute is expected to become the hub of Virginia’s medical biotechnology industry. The institute will accelerate and expand UVA scientists’ ability to discover and manufacture new drugs, run clinical trials, and obtain FDA approval for effective new therapies to benefit patients in Virginia and worldwide.
Learn how to support UVA Cancer Center’s groundbreaking research by contacting us at uvacancercenter@virginia.edu or 434.924.1871.
