# Cancer Pharmacology

> **NIH NIH P30** · RBHS -CANCER INSTITUTE OF NEW JERSEY · 2021 · $29,658

## Abstract

CANCER PHARMACOLOGY PROGRAM
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
The Cancer Pharmacology (CP) Program has the overall goal to discover and develop more effective cancer
treatments through pharmacology-based preclinical research. The ultimate aim is to improve patient outcomes
through innovative and integrative research in cancer target biology, chemical biology, medicinal chemistry,
pharmaceutics and biomedical engineering. Defining molecular functions of cancer targets and leveraging this
knowledge to drive translational bench-to-bedside and bedside-to-bench research in drug discovery and
delivery are signature Program features that span the Rutgers/Princeton Consortium. CP provide a platform for
productive, collaborative and impactful science and discoveries. CP has 37 members from 18 Departments, 7
Schools, 2 Universities. The Program is well funded with $16.5M annual direct peer-reviewed grant support,
$6.1M of which is cancer-focused (13 R01 equivalent, and 6 Multi-PI). CP members published 746 papers
(up from 522 in 2004-10), 29% of which are collaborative (18% intra- and 18% inter-programmatic) with
22% in top-tier journals and 53% collaborative with other institutions. This represents an increase in both
total and collaborative publications compared with last project period. Impactful science includes regulation
of growth pathways by GRM1 in melanoma, novel mechanisms of amino acid signaling by mTOR in colorectal
cancer, and epigenetic regulation in pediatric glioblastomas/sarcomas. CP members revealed key roles of
mTOR and antioxidant pathways in cardiac protection and chronic pain management, which have implications
for reducing cardiac toxicity, a dose-limiting side effect of chemo-therapy, and for improving analgesia in
advanced stage cancer patients. Based on fundamental insights into the biology of molecular targets, CP
members determined the mode of action for riluzole (a repurposed ALS drug) targeting GRM1 in melanoma
and identified determining factors for therapeutic response for rapamycin. CP members focused on
development of novel therapeutics and drug delivery technologies, and identified novel anticancer agents
including a compound that restores mutant p53 function, BMI-1 inhibitors, and prodrugs for riluzole and the
CINJ-developed topoisomerase 1 inhibitor Genz-644282. They developed innovative tumor-targeting
nanocarriers containig multiple therapeutic modalities (small molecules, toxins, nucleic acids, and
peptides/antibodies) and imaging enhancers (e.g., rare earth elements and Mn3O4), enabling cancer detection
and treatment. CP members work with other CINJ Programs, particularly the Clinical Investigations and
Precision Therapeutics Program (CIPT), to translate bench discoveries to clinical trials, contributing
significantly to CINJ’s translational pipeline. They also use feedback from trials to gain further insight into target
biology and mechanisms of treatment response for agents such as riluzole to improve therapeutic approaches...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10112876
- **Project number:** 5P30CA072720-22
- **Recipient organization:** RBHS -CANCER INSTITUTE OF NEW JERSEY
- **Principal Investigator:** STEVEN ZHENG
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $29,658
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1997-03-01 → 2024-02-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10112876

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10112876, Cancer Pharmacology (5P30CA072720-22). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10112876. Licensed CC0.

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