Research Initiatives at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC)

Cancer Center OverviewcaBIG TBPT/ICR Workspaces

Judith Gasson, Ph.D.

Professor and Director, UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center

President, Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation

Co-Director, Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research

Research Initiatives at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center

• Overview of UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (who, where, what)

• Research Partnerships– Translational therapeutics– Nano-technology– Imaging– Cancer stem cells

• New Opportunities

• Funding Base (direct plus indirect) :

• total funding: $195,000,000

• NCI funding: $46,000,000

Location and Funding Base

Funding Base (direct plus indirect) :

total funding: $195,000,000

NCI funding: $46,000,000

Goals for JCCC• Maintain and enhance outstanding basic, clinical

and population sciences research

• Develop dynamic environment necessary to support clinical trials based on JCCC research

• Develop innovative ways to promote and support bidirectional translational research from the bench to the bedside to the community.

Research Initiatives at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center

– 240 faculty from DGSoM, College, SoPH, Dentistry, Nursing, Engineering……

– Organized into 12 Scientific Program Area

– Supported by 10 Shared Resources• Translational Pathology (Dr. Sarah Dry)• Gene Expression (Dr. Stan Nelson)• Bioinformatics (Dr. Arash Naeim)

JCCC Summary

36th year of funding “Comprehensive” designation by National Cancer Institute

Excellence in all areas of cancer prevention, detection, treatment and survivorship research

Education and outreach to geographic region served

283 actively accruing therapeutic clinical trials45% institutional16.5% new patients accrued to studies

UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center Translational therapeutics

• Community- based UCLA Oncology Research Network• Established in 1996 by DJ Slamon• Allows oncology practices throughout the region and nation

to participate in clinical research• Offers highest quality of care available in a comprehensive

& compassionate setting

• Translational Oncology International (TORI)• Formed in 2003• Sites: California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana,

Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas

Herceptin FDA-approved in 1998

Breast cancer (Slamon)

Gleevec FDA-approved in 2001

Chronic myeloid leukemia (Witte, Sawyers)

Avastin FDA-approved 2004

Colon cancer (Kabbinavar)

Tarceva FDA-approved 2004

lung cancer (Prager)

Sprycel FDA-approved 2006

Chronic Myeloid leukemia (Sawyers, Shah)

Tykerb FDA-approved 2007

for HER-2+ breast cancer

How do we measure success?

UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer CenterNano-technology partnerships with Engineering and

Chemistry

• Institute for Cell-Mimetic Space Exploration (CMISE), Chih-Ming Ho, NASA-funded; NCI Nanomedicine Center

• California Nano-Systems Institute (CNSI) UCLA-UCSB, public/private funding

• Cal Tech/ UCLA Pharmacology/ JCCC/ ISB Consortium (Heath, Phelps, Hood) NCI-CCNE Center of Nanotechnology Excellence (7 funded, $18 million)

UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer CenterImaging

• Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging- Mike Phelps– Developing imaging assays for the study of biological

systems including cancer

• In vivo cancer molecular imaging centers- ICMIC Harvey Herschman, NCI funded 5 yrs X2 ($10M).– Translating basic science into improved ways to monitor

cancer and it’s treatment through the marriage of molecular biology, chemistry and imaging.

• JCCC: clinical trial and regulatory expertise, research excellence and shared resources

• Gene Medicine Program: Cell-based therapeutics, research excellence and specialized facilities

• Broad Stem Cell Center: research excellence, shared resources and specialized facilities

Broad Stem Cell Research Center

Human Gene Medicine Program

Jonsson

Comprehensive Cancer Center

ES Cells

JCCC: clinical trial and regulatory expertise, research excellence and shared resources

Gene Medicine Program: Cell-based therapeutics, research excellence and specialized facilities

Broad Stem Cell Center: research excellence, shared resources and specialized facilities

Integration

Opportunities-Partnerships

• Broad Stem Cell Research Center (Witte, Director)– Faculty recruitment– Research space– Shared resources– Funding from CIRM and philanthropy

• UCLA Human Gene Medicine Program (Economou, Kohn)– 48 trials; 340 patients; 85% cancer patients– FDA-compliant GMP suite– 5% of all patients entered on gene therapy trials worldwide

• Provide Formal Classroom Training for authorization of users

• Individualized, secure Omni-lock access

• Assistance/ templates for the development of SoPs (standard operating procedures)

• Full monitoring of all equipment

BSCRC-JCCC Core Stem Cell Laboratory

• Provide Formal Classroom Training for authorization of users

• Individualized, secure Omni-lock access

• Assistance/ templates for the development of SoPs (standard operating procedures)

• Full monitoring of all equipment

Opportunities-Transdisciplinary Initiatives

- Engineered Immunity Project- (JCCC, Gene Med, BSCRC, Cal Tech)

– Tumor microenvironment/ stem cell niche • (Mikkola, Wu)

– Inflammation and cancer • (Herschman, Braun, Dubinett)

– Epigenetics and re-programming • (Plath, Fan, Clark)

– Diet and Nutrition • (Arab, Heber, Liu, Estrin)

Opportunities-Transdisciplinary Initiatives

– Biomarker discovery/microfluidics for diagnostic• (Tseng, Heath)

– Cancer stem cells and novel inhibitors • (Slamon, Witte, Wu, Kornblum, Pietras)

– Cancer Genetics • (Ganz, Nelson)

– Anemia of cancer • (T. Ganz, Dorigo, Lichtenstein, Finn, Dubinett)

– High resolution sequencing and analysis of purified glioblastoma stem cells

• (Nelson, Kornblum, Mischel)

Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center

J o n s s o nC o m p r e h e n s i veC a n c e r C e n t e r

( C C S G )

UC L A G e n eM e dicin ePro g ra m

C lin ica lR e s e a rch Un it

J o n s s o n C a n ce rC e n te r

Fo u n da t io n

I n s t itu te fo rS te m C e ll B io lo g y

a n d M e dicin e

Te d M a n n Fa m ilyR e s o u rce C e n te r

Tra n s la t io n a lO n c o l o g y R e s e a r c h

In t e r n a t i o n a l( TO R I)

D is pa rit ie sR e s e a rchPro g ra m

A rm s tro n gL I V ES TR O NG

C e n te r

I S PR C /Q A