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JANUARY 2024
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IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
- From the Cancer Consortium
- NCI Site Visit Date Confirmed!
- Join the CBB Postdoc Symposium Committee!
- Consortium Kudos
- In the Spotlight
- Current Funding Opportunities
- Save the Date - Upcoming Events
- From the Office of Community Outreach & Engagement
- From the Consortium Shared Resources
- From the Office of Education & Training
- From ITHS
- From the NCI
- Consortium Leader Close Up
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Some of the content in this newsletter is relevant to trainees and postdocs. As such, PIs are encouraged to forward this message other members of their labs and/or encourage them to sign up for the newsletter by emailing amiller2@fredhutch.org.
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FROM THE CANCER CONSORTIUM
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NCI Site Visit Date Confirmed!
The Cancer Consortium Administration team is pleased to announce that the NCI Site Visit for the 2024 CCSG Competing Renewal will take place on Thursday, April 25, 2024.
Preparations for the Site Visit are already underway, and additional details will be shared as the date approaches. For a full list of important Competing Renewal events and dates in the coming months, visit our website or see below:
- January 25, 2024: CCSG Submission Date
- February 15 (1-5pm): Site Visit Practice
- February 16 (1-5pm): Site Visit Practice
- March 7 (full day): Site Visit Practice
- March 25 (full day): Cancer Consortium External Advisory Board Meeting and Site Visit Practice
- April 25 (full day): NCI Site Visit
In the meantime, we have released several of the room holds that were reserved for prospective Site Visit dates. For more information about the rooms still being held, visit our website.
We deeply appreciate your patience and flexibility over these last few months, and we look forward to celebrating with you after our successful submission and Site Visit!
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Join the Cancer Basic Biology Postdoc Symposium Committee!
The Cancer Basic Biology Program is looking for postdocs to join the CBB Postdoc Symposium Committee to help organize this year’s event!
For the past two years, the Cancer Basic Biology program has organized postdoctoral symposiums that have featured talks from keynote speakers and postdoctoral researchers across the Fred Hutch/UW/Seattle Children’s Cancer Consortium in addition to hosting postdoctoral mixers. The goal of these events is to provide postdocs with formal speaking opportunities and to help promote collaboration and networking among Seattle postdocs.
The committee is made up of a group of postdocs from each of the three Cancer Consortium institutions (Fred Hutch, UW, and Seattle Children’s). All postdocs are welcome to join the committee.
Perks and responsibilities of joining the Cancer Biology Postdoc Symposium Committee:
- Connect and meet other postdocs.
- CV booster!
- Opportunity to invite and host your favorite scientist to talk and help put on a fun event!
If you are interested in joining the committee or have any questions, please reach out to Rachel Lex ( rlex@fredhutch.org).
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Consortium Kudos
Congratulations to Dr. Paul Nghiem and his team, whose protocol for a major new trial for Merkel cell carcinoma was recently approved. The MATRiX Trial is a randomized phase 2 study of ATR inhibition in advanced (PD-(L)1-Refractory Merkel cell carcinoma and is being funded via the Experimental Therapeutics Clinical Trials Network (ETCTN), a CCSG supplement from NCI, and the Mark Foundation. It is the first ETCTN Trial to be conducted at Fred Hutch.
The trial is currently open to accrual at the level of the NCI, and local activation is underway for participating sites.
In addition to Dr. Paul Nghiem (Pathogen Associated Malignancies Program), who will serve as the PI of the trial, Dr. Evan Hall (Cancer Immunology Program) will serve as the Co-PI for Medical Oncology.
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In the Spotlight
The following inter-institutional Cancer Consortium collaborations were featured in the most recent edition of the Science Spotlight:
- "Investigating CMV reactivation in CARTx patients reveals high risk patients" featured collaborative work by Drs. Jordan Gauthier (Cancer Immunology), David Maloney (Cancer Immunology), Keith Jerome (Pathogen Associated Malignancies), Wendy Leisenring (Cancer Epidemiology, Prevention & Control), Michael Boeckh (Cancer Immunology), and Joshua Hill (Hematologic Malignancies).
- "Stress, caused by RNA:DNA hybrids, holds the key to treating select leukemias" featured collaborative work by Drs. Elizabeth Swisher (Breast and Ovary Cancers), Derek Stirewalt (Hematologic Malignancies), Sergei Doulatov (Hematologic Malignancies), and Stanley Lee (Hematologic Malignancies).
- "Dense tumor extracellular matrix impedes immunotherapy infiltration" featured collaborative work by Drs. Hootie Warren (Pathogen Associated Malignancies), Shreeram Akilesh (Cancer Basic Biology), and Scott Tykodi (Cancer Immunology).
- "Bone marrow transplant increases risk of cardiovascular disease and developing insulin resistance" featured collaborative work by Drs. Tyler Ketterl (Hematologic Malignancies), Scott Baker (Hematologic Malignancies), Eric Chow (Cancer Epidemiology, Prevention & Control), and Wendy Leisenring (Cancer Epidemiology, Prevention & Control).
- "A niche topic: understanding the development of hematopoietic stem cells" featured collaborative work by Drs. Irv Bernstein (Hematologic Malignancies), Cole Trapnell (Cancer Basic Biology), and Brandon Hadland (Hematologic Malignancies).
Please join us in congratulating these investigators!
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CURRENT FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
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Pilot Funding Is Available from the Cancer Consortium
Cancer Consortium Pilot Awards
Funds are available from the Fred Hutch/UW/Seattle Children's Cancer Consortium to support cancer-related pilot projects.
This competition will provide awards of up to $100,000 direct costs (plus F&A/indirect costs as allowable) for one year of pilot project support. Pilot proposals should represent a new project or research direction for the principal investigator that will provide preliminary data needed to seek outside funding.
Applications are due February 19, 2024, and should be submitted via InfoReady.
Catchment Area Health Pilot Awards
Funds are available from the Fred Hutch/UW/Seattle Children's Cancer Consortium to support new cancer-related pilot projects or research directions focused on the Consortium’s catchment area, which now includes the entire state of Washington.
The research plan should address research on cancers relevant to the catchment area and/or the populations that face the highest burden or cancer disparities in the state. This competition will fund at least one project, at a maximum of up to $100,000, in direct costs, for one year.
Applications are due February 19, 2024, and should be submitted via InfoReady.
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NIH Administrative Supplement: DEIA Mentorship Award
The Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has supplement funding available through a Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Administrative Supplements to Recognize Excellence in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Mentorship. This NOSI focuses on mentors who have dedicated their time and effort and made significant contributions, based on evaluation data and publications, to DEIA to apply for an administrative supplement to further their personal research and/or mentoring activities. Participating Institutes and Centers (ICs) are inviting applications to support administrative supplements to existing NIH awards to support scientists who have demonstrated compelling commitments and contributions to mentorship and enhancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) in the biomedical sciences.
Eligibility Criteria:
Please review the NOSI for details and full eligibility criteria ( link here)
- The PI must hold an eligible parent grant (see list of supporting institutes in the NOSI) with a mentoring component. Examples include but are not limited to:
- a Diversity Supplement associated within the current competitive segment of the parent award
- a Research Education Program that describes mentored research experiences
- a Plan to Provide Mentoring
- a Plan to Enhance Diverse Perspectives
- a discrete objective related to mentoring (examples include but are not limited to a description of mentoring others in a specific aim, a section in the research strategy, or a section in the research training program plan)
- The PI must be supported by no more than one institutional award considered an independent NIH grant at the time of application. Support from awards on the “smaller grants” list do not count toward the independent research project grant award.
- PIs with prior mentoring experience but no mentoring in their parent grant are not eligible.
- Individuals to be added and supported with funds from this administrative supplement must be citizens or noncitizen nationals of the United States or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence.
- Active awards with project end dates in July 2025 or later are eligible. The award may not be in a terminal no-cost extension or going into a no-cost extension in FY2024.
Budget:
The application budget should not exceed $250,000 in direct costs per year for one or two years and should not exceed the direct costs of the parent grant.
Applications are due February 16, 2024. Before submitting an application, applicants are strongly encouraged to consult with the Program Official for the parent grant or the contact listed below to confirm eligibility and to obtain technical assistance. Applications for this initiative must be within scope of the parent award and must be submitted using the following opportunity or its subsequent reissued equivalent.
Please direct any questions to Kris Blair ( kblair@fredhutch.org), Research Development Specialist, Cancer Consortium Administration.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
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» [Ongoing] Steam Plant Seminar Series, Wednesdays at 4pm
Please join us for the Steam Plant Seminar Series (O’Mack Suites, Steam Plant Building, Fred Hutch Campus). Seminars will be followed by beer hour in the first floor lounge. See below for a list of upcoming dates and hosts:
- Wednesday 1/17/2024 (Srivastava Lab)
- Wednesday 1/24/2024 (Riddell Lab)
- Wednesday 1/31/2024 (Hill Lab)
- Wednesday 2/7/2024 (Dudakov Lab)
- Wednesday 2/14/2024 (Ha Lab)
- Wednesday 2/21/2024 (Flow Core)
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» Save the Date: PAM IRC, Cancer Consortium Pathogen Associated Malignancies, and Microbiome Research Initiative (MRI) Joint Retreat
The Cancer Consortium's Pathogen Associated Malignancies Program and the PAM IRC are partnering with the Microbiome Research Initiative to host this retreat. The event will take place on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at Pacific Tower.
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FROM THE OFFICE OF COMMUNITY OUTREACH & ENGAGEMENT
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Call for Volunteers for the 2024 Community Grants Program
The OCOE is looking for Cancer Consortium staff and faculty to serve as mentors and reviewers for the 2024 Community Grants Program! The purpose of this small grant opportunity is to strengthen relationships between the Cancer Consortium and community-led organizations who support diverse racial, ethnic, and marginalized communities in Washington State who may have been and/or still are underrepresented in healthcare settings.
Deadline to be a mentor: January 26, 2024 (BIGGEST NEED)
Deadline to be a reviewer: February 16, 2024
For more information about the community Grants program, click here.
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FROM THE OFFICE OF EDUCATION & TRAINING
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Seattle DROP: Virtual Postdoc Recruitment Event
Please join the Fred Hutch/University of Washington/Seattle Children's Cancer Consortium on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, for a collaborative postdoc recruitment initiative! This virtual event is a great opportunity to learn more about research opportunities in Seattle, hear from leading Consortium mentors with T32 grants, and enjoy a free lunch! All are welcome to attend; individuals from groups underrepresented in biomedical research are encouraged to come.
Registration for this event is now open! Click here to register.
For more information, visit our web page or contact seattledrop@cancerconsortium.org.
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FROM THE CONSORTIUM SHARED RESOURCES
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Hutch Data Core Team Earns Fred Hutch Imagine Grant From AWS
Fred Hutch was named a winner of the 2023-2024 Amazon Web Services (AWS) IMAGINE Grant for the accomplishments of Michael Zager's Hutch Data Core team. Fred Hutch will receive $60,000 in unrestricted funding, $20,000 in AWS Promotional Credits and engagement with AWS technical specialists.
About the IMAGINE Grant
The Amazon Web Services (AWS) IMAGINE Grant is a public grant opportunity open to registered 501(c) nonprofit organizations in the United States and the United Kingdom who are using technology to solve the world’s most pressing challenges.
Fred Hutch was named a winner in the Go Further, Faster category, which recognizes highly innovative projects using advanced cloud services. Proposals were judged on several factors including the innovative and unique nature of the project, impact on mission-critical goals, and clearly defined outcomes and milestones.
Now in its sixth year, the AWS IMAGINE Grant program provides vital resources to nonprofit organizations looking to deploy cloud technology as a central tool to achieve mission goals. As part of the program, AWS seeks proposals for big ideas on how to leverage technology in new and innovative ways to accelerate impact in local and global communities.
Since the launch of the IMAGINE Grant program in 2018, AWS has awarded over $7M in unrestricted funds, AWS Promotional Credits and AWS training support to 89 nonprofit organizations in support of their technology-driven goals. Previous winners are currently using AWS services to tackle critical challenges such as preventing service member and veteran death by suicide, identifying promising and affordable treatments for cancer, helping underrepresented individuals prepare for high-growth careers in technology, and more.
About Cirro
Cirro, a cloud-native Analysis and Information Management System (AIMS) created at Fred Hutch, is specifically designed for the life-sciences sector within academic and research institutions. Its primary goal is to accelerate research while fostering collaboration. Utilizing the most cutting-edge cloud capabilities, the system simplifies the ingestion, storage, batch processing, ad-hoc analysis, visualization and distribution of scientific data to unite innovative research dedicated to preventing and eliminating cancer and infectious diseases.
Cirro has been in development by the Hutch Data Core, a small multidisciplinary team, for more than three years. After extensive development, user experience research and security reviews, customers of Shared Resources can now choose to deliver their data from the Flow Cytometry Core directly to their PI’s account via Cirro, with additional cores to follow in the coming months.
Why We're Excited
Increased support provided by the AWS IMAGINE Grant will be used to help scale up and build out the services provided by Cirro to the Fred Hutch scientific community.
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FROM THE INSTITUTE OF TRANSLATIONAL HEALTH SCIENCES (ITHS)
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Request for Ideas (RFI): Meeting the Need for Innovation in the WWAMI Region
This Request for Ideas is targeting high-impact translational science projects that address unmet needs or generate innovation in the Pacific Northwest. Major points of emphasis include unique strengths or challenges in the Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho (WWAMI) region, and a focus on translational science, not strictly translational research.
From NCATS: Research projects should not only address a translational research question in a particular disease or intervention development/dissemination context, but also provide generalizable clinical & translational science innovations or insights that can be applied to other translational research projects and thereby increase the overall efficiency or effectiveness of translation. Please review the NCATS Translational Science Principles for more details.
Ideas are due on February 15, 2024, but individuals are encouraged to submit as soon as possible to allow for review with adequate time.
Process Timeline:
- One-page concepts to be submitted for review by ITHS leadership
- Up to 10 submissions will be invited to present at the steering committee from March to May
- 3–5 ideas will be chosen for development into fuller projects (including Aims, Collaborations, Budgets, Future Plans)
- Full projects to be presented to the steering committee in May
- Projects will also be presented to the ITHS External Advisory Board in June
Questions can be directed to Mr. Tong Sun ( tsun2019@uw.edu), ITHS Executive Director
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FROM THE NCI
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NCI Data Science Training Resources
The NCI Center for Biomedical Informatics and Information Technology (CBIIT) has developed data science training resources, which are available through the NCI Cancer Data Science website. The new section is tailored specifically for PIs and trainees trying to understand the basics of data science in cancer research including the: NCI CBIIT welcomes ideas for new topics and resources to add to the training. Please email them to ncicbiit@mail.nih.gov.
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The Cancer Consortium newsletter spotlight will return next month!
Want to nominate a Consortium leader to be interviewed? Send suggestions to amiller2@fredhutch.org.
In the meantime, please enjoy this picture of Mikan and Charlie, the newest additions to the Consortium Admin team.
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FRED HUTCH/UNIVERISTY OF WASHINGTON/SEATTLE CHILDREN'S CANCER CONSORTIUM
1100 FAIRVIEW AVE. N., SEATTLE, WA 98109
Award number P30 CA015704-49
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