# Center for Translational Viral Oncology (CTVO)

> **NIH NIH P20** · LSU HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER · 2024 · $2,199,009

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
This Phase 2 renewal is premised upon the prior success of the “Center for Translational Viral Oncology” (CTVO)
and upon evolving research themes that leverage new faculty expertise and health-disparate, cancer prone
populations in our region. Virus-induced malignancies, such as human papilloma virus (HPV)-induced
anogenital, and KSHV-associated Kaposi Sarcomas are highly prevalent in Louisiana and occur at increased
incidence in people living with HIV. Given the regional need for viral cancer research, CTVO Phase 2 is essential
to: 1) sustain the career development of talented Junior Principal Investigators (JPIs); 2) to support existing and
coalescing research between regional scientists in viral oncology; and 3) to reinforce the institutionalization of
productive core facilities. The overarching goal of CTVO is to improve disease management and quality of life
across the diverse spectrum of Louisiana cancer patients through responsive research activity. Our immediate
goal is to comprehensively prepare young investigators to conduct cutting edge viral oncology research
and to better define how HIV co-infection predisposes many malignancies. As part of this goal CTVO will
continue to reinforce collaborations between existing cancer virology and COBRE programs at LSU New
Orleans, LSU Baton Rouge, LSU Shreveport, and Tulane University, to form a highly productive collaborative
network, as part of the Louisiana IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE). The CTVO will
support the scientific, mentoring and administrative needs of the JPIs by providing (i) mentoring teams
composed of NIH-funded basic science and clinical investigators dedicated to guiding JPI research project
implementation and career development; (ii) unique clinical material consisting of annotated biospecimens
collected from HIV+ and HIV- patients with virus-associated cancers at the University Medical Center, New
Orleans; (iii) a supportive administrative core (ADMIN) to facilitate mentoring networking, career
development, and critical external evaluation; (iv) dynamic research core facilities including the HIV clinical
tumor biorepository (HCTB), a molecular histopathology/analytical microscopy core (MHAM), a cellular
immunology/metabolomics core (CIMC), a translational genomics core (TGC), and a biostatistics and
bioinformatics core (BBC), which were specifically designed to assist in state-of-the-art JPI research endeavors.
CTVO focuses this structure on four JPI-led research projects that 1) study HIV-1's impact on immune
reprogramming to predispose neoplasia, 2) seek to define the molecular underpinnings of Kaposi's Sarcoma-
associated herpesvirus (KSHV) latency and tumorigenesis, 3) investigate interactions between human papilloma
virus (HPV) and Epstein–Bar virus (EBV) in anogenital cancer, and 4) test relationships between human
endogenous retroviral (HERV) expression and glioblastoma stemness and drug resistance. Finally, a pilot
research program wi...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10913991
- **Project number:** 5P20GM121288-08
- **Recipient organization:** LSU HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** John T. West
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $2,199,009
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-08-15 → 2027-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10913991

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10913991, Center for Translational Viral Oncology (CTVO) (5P20GM121288-08). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10913991. Licensed CC0.

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