# Training in Tumor Virology

> **NIH NIH T32** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2024 · $453,518

## Abstract

Principal Investigator: Robertson, Erle S.
Program summary
Approximately 20% of all human cancers are associated with viruses that function as biological
cofactors driving these cancers. Some of these viruses may have a direct role in mediating these
cancers as in the case of HIV-related cancers, which includes Kaposi’s sarcoma, pleural effusion
lymphomas and lymphoproliferative disease. There is also an increase in the number of HPV-
related patients for example in the immunocompromised patients who are on HAART therapy and
in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas. The Tumor Virology Training Program at the
University of Pennsylvania serves as the central forum for facilitating interactions among
investigators involved in cancer-related viral research on the Penn campus which provides a more
directed training for trainees. Program members have expertise in EBV, KSHV, HPV, HCV, HIV
and other retroviruses. The biomedical community at Penn would like to continue the momentum
of this training program in Tumor Virology for training predoctoral and postdoctoral students.
There are 21 trainers in this program all of whom are committed to training pre and postdoctoral
fellows for biomedical research careers. The faculty have well-funded NIH programs supported
by different NIH funding mechanisms, and other Government and private foundation funding. The
training program seeks to continue support of 2 predoctoral and 4 postdoctoral students, annually,
for each of the 5 years of funding. The number of trainees in labs of the trainers of this program
has been consistently increasing and we anticipate this trend continuing in the coming years.
Thus, we would like to have available slots for the continued increase in the number of predoctoral
and postdoctoral candidates available to the program. Viral related cancers are expected to
increase as the technology for identifying these agents improves. We continue to provide an
atmosphere of collaboration between clinical and basic scientists for our trainees who will have
the opportunity to formulate ideas which will lead to basic and translational studies initiating and
maintaining a cohesive group in tumor virology. The increased incidence of viral associated
cancers, the commitment of the trainers and the institution with a well-organized training program
will continue to provide an outstanding training environment for pre- and postdoctoral candidates
in tumor virology.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10849334
- **Project number:** 1T32CA288356-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** ERLE S. ROBERTSON
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $453,518
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-05-15 → 2029-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10849334

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10849334, Training in Tumor Virology (1T32CA288356-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10849334. Licensed CC0.

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