# Molecular Mechanisms of Cancer

> **NIH NIH P30** · UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO · 2021 · $49,604

## Abstract

ABSTRACT 
The overarching goal of the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center (UCCCC) 
Molecular Mechanisms of Cancer (MMC) Program is to identify and characterize molecular mechanisms 
underlying cancer cell growth and metastasis leading to development of improved treatment options through 
discovery-based science. To meet these overall objectives, the MMC Program has been organized by its 
leadership around three key scientific themes: 1) mechanisms of altered gene expression in cancer that 
encompasses understanding the significance for cancer etiology of genomic rearrangements, context-specific 
gene expression patterns and altered gene signatures, chromatin modifications and epigenetic marks and 
RNA biology; 2) mechanisms of transformation and altered cell growth in cancer, that includes analysis of 
how proliferation, differentiation, metabolism, cell death and autophagy are deregulated in cancers, and the 
role these processes play in cancer stem cells and therapy responses; and 3) mechanistic analysis of the 
tumor microenvironment and cancer metastasis, with an emphasis on defining novel mechanisms of altered 
cell motility, loss of adhesion, extra-cellular matrix control, acquisition of invasiveness, cell-cell signaling in the 
tumor microenvironment, tumor hypoxia, cancer-associated fibroblasts, and tumor-associated macrophages. 
The MMC Program consists of 37 faculty members from 14 Departments, including key faculty from the 
Department of Chemistry. In the current funding period (2013-2016), Program members published 564 
cancer-related articles (18% intraprogrammatic, 34% interprogrammatic, and 60% interinstitutional). 
W2Program members are supported by $8.52 M (direct costs) in peer-reviewed funding, and $2.80 M (direct 
costs) from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), as well as $4.2 M (direct costs) in non-peer-reviewed funding. 
The focused development of MMC during the past 5 years provides the requisite infrastructure and 
knowledge base to forge translational research interactions within our own Cancer Center and with other 
Cancer Centers. A major strength of the Program over the past 5 years has been the expansion of research 
into mechanisms of metastasis and epigenetic signaling, as well as the new development of chemical 
approaches in cancer research. In summary, the MMC Program has a major impact on all components of the 
UCCCC as the primary driver of basic scientific discovery in molecular mechanisms of cancer using systems 
approaches, model organisms and primary human tumor samples. The interactions of MMC Program 
members with other UCCCC faculty through intra- and interprogrammatic collaborations further enable the 
key scientific steps needed for the discovery and development of promising therapies. Moving forward, MMC 
Program leadership recognizes new opportunities by leveraging our growing strengths especially in chemical 
biology, tumor metabolism, tumor microenvironment and immunology,...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10162522
- **Project number:** 5P30CA014599-46
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
- **Principal Investigator:** BARBARA L. KEE
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $49,604
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1997-09-01 → 2023-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10162522

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10162522, Molecular Mechanisms of Cancer (5P30CA014599-46). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10162522. Licensed CC0.

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