# Developmental Research Program

> **NIH NIH P50** · UNIVERSITY OF TX MD ANDERSON CAN CTR · 2022 · $152,719

## Abstract

DEVELOPMENTAL RESEARCH PROGRAM: Summary/Abstract
The purpose of the Developmental Research Program (DRP) is to fund highly innovative translational studies in
colorectal cancer (CRC) or pancreatic cancer (PDAC) that currently lack a human endpoint as mandated by the 
SPORE guidelines, but that could become full SPORE projects with requisite DRP support, or compete 
successfully for funding outside of the SPORE mechanism. The DRP provides a unique venue for making 
available critical financial support, as well as disease-specific intellectual and resource expertise, through a 
program that is rapidly responsive to new ideas or initiatives, including from investigators whose current work 
may not focus exclusively in CRC or PDAC research. This program is rooted in a spirit of collaboration espoused 
by the GI SPORE leadership, which has an extensive track record of bringing investigators from other disciplines 
into the field of CRC and/or PDAC research. The strength of the DRP rests in its ability to make available financial 
support needed to access all the critical expertise and resources within the entire GI SPORE, including the 
proposed Cores. This will allow us to develop innovative, investigator-initiated projects that have the potential to 
flourish into reliable and productive translational research projects along a path from basic and/or population 
research projects into research focused on human clinical specimens/patient populations. The DRP will be coled by principal investigators of the SPORE including Dr. Anirban Maitra, the Scientific Director of the Sheikh 
Ahmed Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research, and Professor in the Departments of Pathology and 
Translational Molecular Pathology at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center (UTMDACC) and Dr. Scott Kopetz, 
Associate Professor and Deputy Chair for Translational Research in the Department of Gastrointestinal Medical 
Oncology. The DRP will incorporate not only UTMDACC, but also our collaborating partner institution Johns 
Hopkins University (JHU) and other centers of excellence within the Texas Medical Center, providing an 
unprecedented seedbed for promoting innovative translational research projects in PDAC and CRC. Preproposals in the form of one page letters of intent (LOI) will be solicited by the Program, and following review by 
the DRP leadership, applicants of the responsive pre-proposals will be invited to submit a full proposal for review. 
The DRP Directors will help investigators submitting proposals to formulate translational research aims and plans
relevant to the overall themes of the GI SPORE, as many applicants may not have prior expertise in this type of 
research. The overarching goal will be to facilitate research activities that will enable proposing a feasible human 
endpoint for future iterations of the funded proposal. This process will therefore be a major educational activity 
that is further anticipated to stimulate translational research in CRC or PDAC and en...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10415971
- **Project number:** 5P50CA221707-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TX MD ANDERSON CAN CTR
- **Principal Investigator:** ANIRBAN MAITRA
- **Activity code:** P50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $152,719
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-08-20 → 2024-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10415971

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10415971, Developmental Research Program (5P50CA221707-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10415971. Licensed CC0.

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