# Admin: Mechanical determinants of organ-selective metastatic colonization, dormancy and outgrowth

> **NIH NIH U54** · MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY · 2022 · $407,005

## Abstract

Administrative Core: SUMMARY
 We propose to bring together an unparalleled team comprised of five leaders in metastatic cancer
research across five institutions (MIT, University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, MD Anderson at The
University of Texas, and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard University). The proposed MetNet Center
Administrative Core will be led by co-MPI Prof. Roger Kamm. The day-to-day administration of this grant will be
managed by the Center Administrator, located at MIT, who will be responsible for maintaining all records relative
to this award and will establish and monitor agreements with affiliated institutions. Additionally, center
administration will be supported by a Data Manager, who will be located at Harvard under the co-direction of Dr.
Franziska Michor. The Data Manager will sit on the Resource and Data Sharing Working Group of MetNet and
will be responsible for the co-development (in collaboration with the Center Administrator) of the MetNet Center’s
website, discussions regarding standard metadata fields, determine whether there will be pre-publication of data
sharing across the MetNet, create SOPs for MetNet data upload in conjunction with the different NCI Cancer
Research Data Commons, and lead the conversations about data quality control, cross validation, and
reproducibility. An External Advisory Committee (EAC) will be formed, bringing together investigators with
expertise in fields related to cancer metastasis and the tumor microenvironment. The EAC is envisioned as a
group of highly active members engaged to advise the MetNet Center leadership on scientific direction and
review progress evaluation, research strategies and implementation, leadership and dissemination, all in the
effort to maximize the impact of the center. The MetNet center will enhance the translational value and potential
impact of its research by engaging a Patient Advocate, who will be a member of the EAC as a reviewer and
evaluator of the pilot project grant applications, and will be invited to attend the monthly research webinars and
participate in the quarterly Co-MPI meetings, and the Annual Site Visit. To foster collaboration and further support
multi-institutional communication, wide reaching knowledge dissemination, and provide the MetNet Center
trainees opportunities for enhancing their technical and professional development skills, the Administrative Core
will support a virtual, monthly seminar series, and will offer intra-MetNet Center research exchanges and $50,000
pilot projects. In Aim 1 the Administrative Core will oversee and coordinate the project mission, establish
multidisciplinary project oversight and establish timeline milestones with videoconferencing and face-to-face
meetings. In Aim 2, we will develop, coordinate, schedule, and evaluate research meetings, research symposia,
and the visiting scientists’ programs that are critical to our research mission and dissemination. In Aim 3, we will
create t...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10490282
- **Project number:** 5U54CA261694-02
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
- **Principal Investigator:** ROGER D KAMM
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $407,005
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-09-17 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10490282

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10490282, Admin: Mechanical determinants of organ-selective metastatic colonization, dormancy and outgrowth (5U54CA261694-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10490282. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*