Cancer Biology and Cancer Stem Cells

PROJECT SUMMARY
The Cancer Biology and Cancer Stem Cells (CB) Program is a basic and translational science program that aims
to understand the fundamental mechanisms underlying cancer development. From these insights, we aspire to
improve cancer diagnosis and treatment through the following specific aims: (1) understand the regulation and
function of normal and cancer stem cells, (2) understand the mechanisms of initiation and progression of
epithelial cancers, and (3) identify potential new therapeutic targets.
The program is co-led by Laura Attardi, PhD, and Roeland Nusse, PhD. In 2019, the former Cancer Biology
Program and Cancer Stem Cells Program merged with the approval of the EAB to become the current Cancer
Biology and Cancer Stem Cells Program. In the current funding period, program members have made substantial
progress in understanding the self-renewal pathways of cancer stem cells and in elucidating signaling pathways
of high cancer relevance, including most prominently the Wnt and Hedgehog pathways. They have also
pioneered a new technology, ATAC-seq, that enables a more fundamental understanding of the role of chromatin
in gene expression and used organoid and mouse model systems to discover the mechanisms of tumor
suppressors and progression and to uncover new therapeutic targets. The 53 members of the current program
represent 16 departments within the Schools of Medicine (SOM), Humanities and Sciences, and Engineering.
Members are supported by peer-reviewed research totaling $25.6M, including 34 R01s, 12 R35s, 6 U01s, and
3 T32s. Peer-reviewed cancer-focused research funding consists of $7M from the NCI, $12M from other NIH
sources, and $6.6M from other peer-reviewed sources. The members of this program are highly motivated and
interactive in their goal to use basic science approaches to understand cancer initiation and progression, with
the ultimate aim of improving cancer diagnosis and treatment. Since 2015, members of the CB Program have
published 668 manuscripts. Of these, 16% represent intra-programmatic, 31% represent inter-programmatic,
and 95% multi-institutional collaborations, 43% and 33% are in journals with IF>10 and IF>20, respectively. The
Stanford Cancer Institute (SCI) enhances the program’s goals by providing state-of-the-art shared resources,
seed grant support for new projects, programmatic funds, retreats, special seminars, support for new faculty
recruitments, and clinical trial infrastructure for translation of research findings. The support from the SCI has
also been instrumental in promoting both intra- and inter-programmatic collaborations through organizing
programmatic and working group meetings and providing the means to interface with the more clinically oriented
programs to enhance our translational impact. Future plans incluce to further enhance intra- and inter-
progammtic collaborations by enhance cancer focused working groups.

Grant Number: 5P30CA124435-17
NIH Institute/Center: NIH
Principal Investigator: LAURA ATTARDI