PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Developmental Funds are a key financial resource that Perlmutter Cancer Center (PCC) has used to facilitate its strategic goals and vision. During the current cycle, these funds were used for two purposes. Support was provided to two Developing Cores, both of which were highly successful. The Metabolomics Developing Core is presented as a full shared resource in the current application. Data Core is now an institutionally funded resource (Data Hub). was to support promising pilot studies in basic, translational, clinical, and population sciences that aligned with the objectives of the PCC Strategic Plan and address major cancer burdens and/or disparities in our catchment area. Selected projects were expected to have a high likelihood of producing important discoveries and publications, future peer-reviewed grants, and/or new intellectual property (IP). Preference was given to multi-investigator projects with the potential to catalyze new team science that addresses catchment area needs. Funds were also allocated to novel investigator-initiated clinical trials without other/adequate sources of funding. Young investigators without significant funding, or more established faculty who wished to expand their focus to include cancer-related research but who lack external funding for this purpose, were also considered for Developmental Funds support. Pilot projects are selected by the Developmental Funds Committee following a rigorous 2-stage, NIH-like review process and managed by the Administrative Office (AO). The impact of allocated funds as measured by publications, new grant applications/grants, submitted or issued patents, and/or other intellectual property was monitored by Developmental Funds Committee, the AO, and the Executive Management Committee to assess the success of the program. Pilot funds were allocated to all four Research Programs during the current funding period and were highly impactful. Return on investment was ~570%, as measured by new grant funding. These funds also yielded multiple impactful papers, new IP, the creation of two biotechnology companies, and several investigator-initiated trials. Over half of the projects addressed major cancer burdens and/or disparities in the PCC catchment area. In the next funding period, we propose to support similarly impactful pilot studies. The Specific Aims of Developmental Funds are: 1) To fund innovative cancer research pilot projects that advance the overall goals of the Strategic Plan and address the needs of the PCC catchment area, 2) To foster and develop collaborative, transdisciplinary research involving teams of basic, translational, clinical, and population investigators, 3) To develop and support young investigators or established faculty with an emerging interest in cancer-related investigation, and 4) to develop and support novel investigator-initiated early phase clinical trials and/or interventional studies that support disease management group-rela...