# OHSU Center for Specialized Data Analysis as part of the GDAN

> **NIH NIH U24** · OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $421,806

## Abstract

Project Summary
Recent advances in therapeutics have improved survival rates for many cancers. However, nearly all
metastatic tumors are incurable, and resistance to therapeutic interventions is nearly universal. There are
many reasons for our lack of progress-foremost of which is lack of understanding of mechanisms of response
and resistance and lack of markers to identify subsets of patients ideally-suited for specific treatments.
Our team brings enormous experience in TCGA and other multi-disciplinary coordinated projects, such as
BEAT-AML, and the Stand Up to Cancer West Coast Prostate Cancer Dream Team. The Cancer Genome
Atlas (TCGA) was successful because multi-disciplinary teams worked together to create new and innovative
knowledge about cancer and we intend to ensure that the GDAN is equally successful. In this application, we
have assembled a team of proven investigators from four of the different TCGA groups to extend the
successes of TCGA to the projects managed by the Center for Cancer Genomics. Our team will continue our
outstanding capabilities at analyzing and interpreting cancer genomic data by deploying data analysis pipelines
that support the key capabilities of the network.
In addition to the our experience in coordinated network studies, we bring experience with clinical trial design
and interpretation. Further, the team has deep expertise at building the computational infrastructure necessary
for the GDAN to succeed. For example, in the domain of distributed computing we have deploy pipelines for
execution at many sites. We also bring novel methods for integrative pathways and analysis. Finally, we bring
our experiences with competitive challenges that ensure that we can identify and deploy the most effective
methods for genomic data analyses.
Using these strengths we will support the GDAN and the Analysis Working Groups (AWGs) that it serves with
two principal objectives. The first objective and second objective, per the RFA, are the “Development of
innovative bioinformatics and computational tools and methodologies”, which will allow us to make clinical and
biological correlations and to “Conduct Integrative analysis of data sets generated by GCCs using the
bioinformatics tools developed by each GDAC.” We will achieve these objectives in five specific aims, one
administrative aim to support the GDAN and four aims, one for each of the areas where we propose a
competency.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10004583
- **Project number:** 5U24CA210957-05
- **Recipient organization:** OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Emek Demir
- **Activity code:** U24 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $421,806
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-09-13 → 2021-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10004583

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10004583, OHSU Center for Specialized Data Analysis as part of the GDAN (5U24CA210957-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10004583. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*