CANCER PHARMACOLOGY PROGRAM PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The overarching goal of the Cancer Pharmacology (CP) Program is discovery and development of more effective cancer treatments through pharmacology-based preclinical research and technical innovation. CP has 46 Members (versus 41 for the previous funding cycle, hereafter ‘previously’) with diverse expertise, representing 21 Departments, 7 Schools, and 2 Universities, under the strong, complementary leadership of Drs. X.F. Steven Zheng and Stephen K. Burley. CP research is focused on understanding the biology of key molecular targets in cancer that drive cell growth, proliferation and survival so that they can be effectively targeted for cancer therapy, to determine the modes of action and mechanisms of resistance to anticancer agents, and to discover and develop novel therapeutics and drug delivery technologies for more effective cancer treatment. CP was rated Outstanding to Excellent in the previous CCSG competitive renewal. In response to opportunities for improvement identified by the review team, we developed and implemented a CP Program Strategic Plan aligned with the overall CINJ Strategic Plan. Substantial progress has been made during the current funding period. Outcomes include higher impact scientific and technological advancements, more effective translational research, tighter focus on Catchment Area (CA) Priorities, and Community Outreach and Engagement (COE). These accomplishments were enabled by strategic recruitment, intra/inter-programmatic teamwork within the Cancer Center and with external collaborators both nationally and internationally, peer-reviewed, cancer- relevant funding and multi-principal investigator (MPI) grants, community engagement, commitment to mentorship of new/early career faculty and trainees, and increased representation of Princeton faculty in the Program. During the current grant period, CP held more peer-reviewed, cancer-relevant funding ($9.6M versus $6.5M previously), and more NCI funding ($4.3M versus $3.2M previously) and published 656 impactful, peer- reviewed and cancer-relevant papers with 36% (versus 13% previously) appearing in high impact (impact factor>10) journals (e.g., Cell, Nature, Science, Molecular Cell, Cell Metabolism, Nature Cancer). In addition to basic science and technology achievements, CP members developed mathematical models to improve treatment outcomes of immune checkpoint and chemotherapies, and novel small molecule, biologic and nano therapeutics, and precision base-editing technology tested in clinical trials and/or licensed to biopharmaceutical companies, significantly strengthening the Cancer Center’s translational pipeline. Moving forward, CP will pursue integrative, multi-disciplinary approaches to research, development and translation, leverage COE to address community and CA Priorities, and promote translational research leading to clinical trials and commercial development that will bolster CINJ translational pipelin...