# Cancer Biology Research Program

> **NIH NIH P30** · VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $33,186

## Abstract

CANCER BIOLOGY PROGRAM: PROJECT SUMMARY
The Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Massey Cancer Center (MCC) launched a new Cancer Biology
(CB) Program in 2020, incorporating the strengths and expertise of select members from the former Cancer Cell
Signaling and Cancer Molecular Genetics Programs. The objective of this restructuring was to build a more
cohesive, cancer-centric, basic research program within MCC’s transdisciplinary environment that would
enhance collaborative interactions and increase opportunities to seed new scientific concepts. These concepts
could be further leveraged through team-based translation with members of the Developmental Therapeutics
(DT) or Cancer Prevention and Control (CPC) Programs. CB Program members crafted an overarching scientific
pillar goal through the 2021-2025 MCC Strategic Plan to guide their efforts forward – to achieve groundbreaking
discoveries through unraveling mechanistic paradigms of tumorigenesis and dissecting key interactions between
tumors and their stromal or immune microenvironment. The CB Program is organized under three specific aims
focusing on cancer cell signaling, genetic and epigenetic drivers, and tumor microenvironment. CB Program
members perform innovative research to understand the complex facets of cancer biology and in collaboration
with DT and CPC members develop innovative preventative, diagnostic, and therapeutic tools to target specific
cancers, especially those with the highest burden in MCC’s catchment area. Recently, the CB Program
undertook initiatives to establish formal collaborations with the Office of Community Outreach and Engagement
to ensure its members are fully aware of the distinct characteristics of the cancer burden in MCC’s catchment
area so that they can best align their science to address this burden and engage the community in CB Program
science going forward. With 47 members across six VCU Schools/Colleges, the CB Program has also cultivated
a rich intellectual environment for attracting and mentoring an increasingly diverse pipeline of early-stage cancer
biologists. CB Program members currently hold $7.8M in annual, direct, peer-reviewed funding ($3.1M from NCI;
$3.3M from other NIH institutes; $1.4M from other agencies). Since 2016, members of the CB Program have
published their discoveries in 433 program-relevant and cancer-focused research articles. Demonstrating the
program’s collaborative nature, 141 (33%) publications were intra-programmatic, 132 (30%) were inter-
programmatic, and 266 (61%) were inter-institutional. Among the many scientific contributions made by CB
members since 2016, a few noteworthy include 1) defining the roles of two oncoproteins, AEG-1 and SND1, in
hepatocellular carcinoma; 2) discovering a novel Activin/Twist1 axis in cancer cachexia that is amenable to
therapeutic manipulation; 3) identifying PDZ1i as a potent anti-metastatic drug; 4) unraveling the ability of
sphingosine kinase 1 to inhibit triple-negative breast cance...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10850919
- **Project number:** 5P30CA016059-42
- **Recipient organization:** VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Azeddine Atfi
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $33,186
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1995-12-01 → 2028-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10850919

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10850919, Cancer Biology Research Program (5P30CA016059-42). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10850919. Licensed CC0.

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