# Developmental Research Program

> **NIH NIH P50** · UNIVERSITY OF TX MD ANDERSON CAN CTR · 2020 · $155,291

## Abstract

Developmental Research Program SUMMARY/ ABSTRACT 
The purpose of the Developmental Research Program (DRP) is to fund promising projects by investigators 
whose current work may not focus exclusively on endometrial cancer, but who propose highly innovative 
translational studies of endometrial cancer that could become full SPORE projects or compete successfully for 
funding outside of the SPORE mechanism. The DRP provides a unique venue for making available significant 
financial support, and for demonstrating active institutional support, through a program that is rapidly 
responsive to new ideas or initiatives. Moreover, this program is rooted in a spirit of collaboration espoused by 
the SPORE investigators, who have an extensive track-record of bringing investigators from other disciplines 
into the field of endometrial cancer research. The strength of the Developmental Research Program rests in its 
ability to make available financial support and access all the critical expertise and resources within the entire 
SPORE, including SPORE Cores. This will allow us to develop important collaborative, multi-investigator, multi- 
institutional research projects with the support of innovative, investigator-initiated projects that have the 
potential to flourish into reliable and productive translational research projects for the SPORE. Pre-proposals 
in the form of 1 page letters of intent will be solicited by the Program, and applicants with pre-proposals that 
are highly competitive for the goals of this program will be invited to submit a full proposal for review. The DRP 
Directors will help investigators submitting proposals to formulate relevant translational research aims and 
plans, as many applicants may not have prior expertise in this type of research. This process will therefore be 
a major educational activity that is further anticipated to stimulate translational research in endometrial cancer 
and encourage the participation of both basic science researchers and clinical investigators in translational 
research. The DRP will be led by Thomas Burke, M.D., the founding Endometrial Cancer SPORE PI and 
current Vice President of the MD Anderson Cancer Network, and Wei Zhang, Ph.D., a Professor in the 
Department of Pathology with specific expertise in cancer biology, genomics, and construction of miRNA 
signaling networks. Russell Broaddus, M.D., Ph.D., SPORE Co-PI, will provide oversight to the DRP. The 
DRP is critical to the continued success of the SPORE, as shown by four former DRP awardees now involved 
as research project Co-PIs in this application, and a fifth is an important co-investigator on a SPORE project. 
Two other former DRP awardees will provide their scientific expertise by serving on the External Advisory 
Board.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10006201
- **Project number:** 5P50CA098258-15
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TX MD ANDERSON CAN CTR
- **Principal Investigator:** RUSSELL R BROADDUS
- **Activity code:** P50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $155,291
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-09-01 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10006201

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10006201, Developmental Research Program (5P50CA098258-15). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10006201. Licensed CC0.

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