# Development and Cancer Program

> **NIH NIH P30** · UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER · 2021 · $26,274

## Abstract

The Development and Cancer (DC) Program at Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center (SCCC) is a
multidisciplinary program co-led by Joshua Mendell, MD, PhD, and Stephen Skapek, MD. The DC Program
includes 41 basic, computational, and physician scientists from 18 departments and centers at UT Southwestern
Medical Center (UTSW). The DC Program is unique among SCCC programs in that its members investigate the
developmentally and evolutionarily conserved processes that are fundamental to cancer cell growth, division,
and differentiation. DC investigators also study the organ and organism growth and developmental processes
that are derailed in human cancer. DC Program members pursue four major aims to cover the diversity at the
developmental and cancer biology interface: (1) Systematic analyses of stem cell biology and regeneration, (2)
Exploring gene expression and cell fate, (3) Studies of cell differentiation and organogenesis, and (4) Analyzing
cell–cell and cell–stroma interactions. DC Program Leaders promote utilization of the complete spectrum of
resources from SCCC and the Cancer Center Support Grant (CCSG) to provide a research environment that
stimulates scientific interactions between laboratory-based investigators and translational and clinical
researchers. As a result, DC Program members have fully participated in Kidney and Liver SPORE projects, NCI
and CPRIT multi-investigator research awards, and exploration of topics with high potential for clinical translation.
Many of these efforts are beginning to reach cancer patients, including those with lung and liver cancer and other
malignancies that are particularly prevalent in the SCCC catchment area. Total direct peer-reviewed funding to
the DC Program is $16.5M, with 29% from NCI. This represents an increase of $4.5M in peer-reviewed funding
compared with 2014 data, which were adjusted to conform to new NCI guidelines. Since 2014, DC Program
members have authored 552 publications: 16% represent intraprogrammatic work, 47% are interprogrammatic
collaborations, and 30% are in journals with an impact factor >10. DC Program members benefit from the use of
all six of the Cancer Center Shared Resources, especially Live Cell Imaging, Small Animal Imaging, and Tissue
Management. To foster collaborations, the DC Program holds a large annual retreat, leads relevant campuswide
seminar series, and organizes theme-focused research retreats. In addition, DC Program members received
$1.5M in pilot project funding during the last grant cycle; those funds have helped to catalyze collaborations and
research at the development and cancer biology interface. The program is highly invested in unraveling the
fundamental elements of cancer biology in a manner that can ultimately improve the care provided to patients
with cancer.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10170614
- **Project number:** 2P30CA142543-11
- **Recipient organization:** UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** STEPHEN X SKAPEK
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $26,274
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2010-09-01 → 2026-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10170614

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10170614, Development and Cancer Program (2P30CA142543-11). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10170614. Licensed CC0.

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