# Huntsman Cancer Institute/ University of Utah Network Lead Academic Participating Site Application

> **NIH NIH UG1** · UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH · 2024 · $548,114

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
As a National Cancer Institute (NCI) Network Lead Academic Participating Site (NLAPS), Huntsman Cancer
Institute (HCI) will provide leadership and robust accruals for the National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN)
Program. As evidenced by our prior success as a NCI U10-funded NLAPS partner, the HCI NLAPS will
contribute to the development and conduct of clinical trials in association with SWOG, NRG Oncology, and
Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology (ALLIANCE) NCTN Groups, as well as substantial accrual to clinical
trials across the entire NCTN. The HCI NLAPS executive team is well-qualified and experienced in cooperative
group research. The PI, David Gaffney, MD, PhD, is a radiation oncologist with a long history of leadership and
participation in NCTN activities. HCI's faculty adds significantly to the leadership of the NCTN program through
participation on steering committees, task forces, and group activities. In the past four years, three HCI faculty
were national principal investigators (PIs, study chairs); two faculty members are national PIs of pending trials.
HCI has a strong, established commitment to participation in NCTN trials. In 2017, 18% (96/532) of HCI
therapeutic accruals were made to NCTN trials and, consistently, >50 NCTN therapeutic trials are open,
including rare disease trials. In 2016, 27% of all HCI trials (n=67) were for rare cancers. HCI saw a greater
than 50% growth in NCTN accruals in the past U10-funded grant cycle: from 61 to 96 in grant years 1- 4.
HCI has a vigorous and growing clinical trials program, with strong commitment from the University of Utah,
substantial philanthropic support, state-of-the-art facilities, a dedicated Cancer Hospital, and a centralized
infrastructure for its clinical research enterprise housed in new, contiguous space. Our Center also has unique
assets of value to clinical research, including rural and Native American populations, an NCI Center for
Quantitative Imaging Excellence, and the Utah Population Database, a powerful interlinkage of population-
based genealogical data and statewide medical and vital records.
In 2015, HCI advanced to Comprehensive Cancer Center status, receiving an overall merit descriptor of
`Exceptional'. Housed at the University of Utah, the only academic medical center in the Mountain West, HCI
draws cancer clinical trial patients from across Utah, as well as from Idaho, Nevada, Montana, and Wyoming,
and provides near-exclusive access to this patient population. As a NLAPS, HCI will be a strong, committed,
and sustaining partner to the NCTN program as a cancer center characterized by expertise, leadership, and
active accrual. HCI will work vigorously to ensure the success of the NCTN's cooperative endeavors to
eradicate cancer.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10789904
- **Project number:** 5UG1CA233178-06
- **Recipient organization:** UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
- **Principal Investigator:** Heloisa Prado Soares
- **Activity code:** UG1 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $548,114
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-03-15 → 2026-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10789904

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10789904, Huntsman Cancer Institute/ University of Utah Network Lead Academic Participating Site Application (5UG1CA233178-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10789904. Licensed CC0.

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