Cancer Center Support Grant (CCSG)

Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) is an independent nonprofit research and graduate
degree-granting institution located in La Jolla, CA, that conducts laboratory-based biomedical research funded
primarily through NIH grants. The mission of the SBP NCI-designated Cancer Center is to be a national leader
in the effort to overcome cancer as a cause of human suffering and death. Our vision is to make paradigmshifting
discoveries that will underlie novel therapeutic modalities by creating, translating, and disseminating
exceptional basic cancer science. We will attain this by: (1) conducting state-of-the-art, multidisciplinary basic
research into the causes, prevention, and treatment of cancer; (2) advancing our discoveries into early preclinical
development for the benefit of cancer patients everywhere; and (3) educating and training the next generation
of cancer scientists. The CCSG proposal details our plans for advancing our early translational cancer research
capabilities, including basic cancer discovery (novel gene targets and mechanisms), an area of long-standing
exceptional strength at the Center. We will advance our scientific discoveries through several platforms, including
small molecule-based drug discovery, an area in which we have significant technical capabilities and experience;
and early preclinical therapeutic development, a growing strength. The Cancer Center is organized around three
programs that encompass the cancer continuum: Tumor Initiation and Maintenance, Cancer Metabolism and
Signaling Networks, and Tumor Microenvironment and Cancer Immunology, each having three sub-themes
based on the hallmarks of cancer. We describe 10 Shared Resources that are critical for achieving the scientific
goals of the programs with which they are tightly interwoven. We describe the past use of CCSG developmental
funds for supporting the recruitment of new faculty and collaborative translational pilot projects. The San Diego
NCI Cancer Center Council (C3) is a collaborative initiative between the three local NCI-designated Cancer
Centers: SBP, UCSD, and the Salk Institute. The C3 initiative leverages the unique skills and resources of each
cancer center for the treatment and ultimate cure of cancer by providing access to select shared resources at
each institution at internal member rates, and outside philanthropic support for collaborative translational grants
between investigators at the three cancer centers. The proposal highlights the progress made towards achieving
our vision through multilevel strategic planning and evaluation, investments, recruitments, collaborations,
organizational changes, and research accomplishments. Situated in San Diego, the fifth most populous county
and the largest biotech and second largest life sciences cluster in the US, the Cancer Center is poised to achieve
its vision by leveraging its scientific strengths through collaborations with academic and private sector
investigators locally, nationally, and internationally.

Grant Number: 5P30CA030199-45
NIH Institute/Center: NIH
Principal Investigator: Paul Boutros