# Career Enhancement Program

> **NIH NIH P50** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2022 · $91,989

## Abstract

Career Enhancement Program (CEP): Project Summary / Abstract
By its very nature, leiomyosarcoma (LMS) demands a multi-disciplinary approach to care and research. LMS are
highly aggressive tumors, which frequently present at high stage, and require the coordinated and integrated
care of surgeons, radiation oncologists, and medical oncologists. In addition, the diverse nature of the anatomic
sites of presentation, the differential behavior, and molecular characteristics of soft tissue and uterine LMS, and
genotypic and phenotypic overlap with other pleomorphic sarcomas demands the involvement of anatomic and
molecular pathologists. This SPORE will be uniquely poised to provide career development opportunities and
mentorship for young investigators in all of these disciplines. In particular, the SPORE CEP will recruit and
promote promising young researchers to pursue careers in translational studies of LMS or genetic predisposition
for sarcoma/LMS. The SPORE mechanism will provide these CEP awardees with rich opportunities to interact
with and learn from basic, translational, and clinical sarcoma researchers from key disciplines.
 Elizabeth G. Demicco MD, PhD (University of Toronto), and Jonathan A. Fletcher MD (Dana Farber
Cancer Institute) will serve as co-directors for the SPORE CEP committee. The CEP committee will assist the
co-directors in ensuring that the CEP meets its goals and that awardees are progressing in their career
development and being adequately mentored. The committee represents the multi-disciplinary nature
of translational sarcoma research, with particular expertise in sarcoma biology, target discovery and
validations, genomics, experimental therapeutics, biostatistics, surgery, radiation medicine,
biomarkers, and pathology. The committee members are academic leaders at the SPORE member
institutions with experience in LMS. As seen across sarcoma-relevant medical and surgical disciplines,
women and minorities continue to be underrepresented. It is a priority for this SPORE that diversity is
enhanced in sarcoma research and we have endeavored to contribute to this effort by including women
as members of all SPORE Committees and in the program leadership.
 Providing research support and protected time for young investigators is essential in translational
research, particularly in sarcoma research, where funding mechanisms are few. The SPORE CEP will facilitate
transition of awardees to independent investigator status and will prioritize funding early career scientists who
seek to advance quality of life through research on disease mechanisms. Specific aims that assist the SPORE
CEP in achieving these goals include: 1. Identifying and providing exceptional science and career mentorship to
young sarcoma researchers; 2. Enforcing adequate protected time for clinically-oriented investigators to facilitate
their development into independent translational researchers; 3. Recruiting highly qualified minority and women
investigators from ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10493635
- **Project number:** 1P50CA272170-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** JONATHAN Alfred FLETCHER
- **Activity code:** P50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $91,989
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-16 → 2027-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10493635

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10493635, Career Enhancement Program (1P50CA272170-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10493635. Licensed CC0.

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