# Cancer and Stem Cell Biology

> **NIH NIH P30** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · 2020 · $86,973

## Abstract

CANCER AND STEM CELL BIOLOGY RESEARCH PROGRAM (CSCB)
ABSTRACT
The Cancer and Stem Cell Biology Research Program (CSCB) is led by Director Gay Crooks, MBBS, who
specializes in hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell transplantation and Co-Director Brigitte Gomperts, MD, who
studies lung carcinogenesis and the role of the microenvironment. CSCB links basic and translational
investigators studying biological processes shared between stem cells and malignancy. Program members
expect that a detailed understanding of the mechanisms of normal and aberrant cell self-renewal and
differentiation will reveal novel biological insights into cancer initiation, progression, and recurrence, thereby
enabling exploration of novel therapeutic targets and biomarkers. CSCB basic, translational, and clinical
researchers study normal stem cells and their malignant counterparts originating from two biological sources,
hematopoiesis and epithelia. Scientific interactions between the two tissue platforms integrate by sharing
common conceptual frameworks and experimental tools. The Program objective is to understand the intrinsic
and extrinsic mechanisms that control homeostasis in healthy tissues that go awry in malignancy, and to harness
these mechanisms for cancer treatment. Three specific aims guide achieving the Program objective. Aim 1- To
understand how the biology of epithelial stem cells is regulated during malignant transformation and normal
development. Aim 2- To define the mechanisms that regulate growth and differentiation of hematopoietic stem
and progenitor cells during malignant transformation, normal development, and after transplantation. Aim 3- To
determine the role of the microenvironment in tumor formation and stem cell regulation.
The CSCB program has 36 faculty from 16 departments spanning four UCLA schools and affiliated institution
Caltech, that together provide the breadth and depth of expertise needed to achieve scientific and programmatic
goals. Program members are highly productive and collaborative with 633 cancer publications during the prior
project period, 31% of which are inter-programmatic, 6% of which are intra-programmatic, and 44% of which are
in high-impact (IF ≥10, or field leading) journals. Members have support from $11,389,786 in cancer funding, of
which $2.7M (23%) is from the NCI and $8.1M (71%) is peer-reviewed. Program science is highly dependent on
the JCCC, with significant member use of all six Shared Resources, the Seed and Impact grant programs, space
allocations, and recruitment and retention of key investigators. Each CSCB investigator has a dominant interest
in either hematopoietic or epithelial stem cells, although the shared biology of stem cells and cancer in all tissue
types has led to an immensely fertile and interactive Program environment across platforms. These interactions
benefit from a close collaboration between the JCCC and the UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center (BSCRC)
over the past 12 years. Almost every in...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9936720
- **Project number:** 2P30CA016042-44
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES
- **Principal Investigator:** Gay M Crooks
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $86,973
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** — → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9936720

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9936720, Cancer and Stem Cell Biology (2P30CA016042-44). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9936720. Licensed CC0.

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