Welcome to the Translational Research Program (TRP)

The Translational Research Program (TRP) is committed to reducing cancer incidence and mortality and improving survival and quality of life for cancer patients. TRP uses advances in basic sciences to develop new approaches for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer by fostering interdisciplinary investigations and coordinating the resources of NCI with those of academia, industry, and nonprofit organizations and foundations.

These objectives are accomplished by:

• Supporting the Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPOREs) to translate novel scientific discoveries into clinical testing, including early-phase clinical trials
• Encouraging a multidirectional approach to translational research
• Promoting research in high incidence and rare cancers in adults and children
• Facilitating the cross-fertilization of ideas, leveraging resources, and ensuring access of resources to projects and investigators to bring discoveries from the laboratory to the clinic in the most efficient manner
• Supporting additional grant mechanisms for translational research

TRP is the home of the SPOREs — the Specialized Programs of Research Excellence - a cornerstone of NCI's efforts to promote collaborative, interdisciplinary translational cancer research. SPORE grants involve both basic and clinical/applied scientists working together and support projects that will result in new and diverse approaches to the prevention, early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of human cancers.

Each SPORE is focused on a specific organ site, a group of highly related cancers, or a common pathway or theme that ties together the cancers under study. SPOREs are designed to enable the rapid and efficient movement of basic scientific findings into clinical settings, as well as to determine the biological basis for observations made in individuals with cancer or in populations at risk for cancer. SPOREs are required to reach a human endpoint within the 5-year funding period. Currently, 21 organ sites, systems, and pathway-specific themes are represented in the SPORE portfolio, including: brain, breast, cancer health disparities, cervical, endometrial, epigenetics, gastrointestinal, head and neck, hyperactive RAS, liver, kidney, leukemia, lung, lymphoma, myeloma, , ovarian, pancreatic, prostate, radiation sensitivity, sarcoma, and skin.

The objective for all SPOREs is to reduce cancer incidence and mortality and to improve survival and quality of life for cancer patients. SPOREs encourage the advice of patient advocates in SPORE activities. Prospective applicants are encouraged to contact TRP Program Officials for advice prior to submission. The current Program Announcement for submitting applications can be found here.

TRP currently uses the P50, U54, and P20 funding mechanisms for the SPORE program. In addition, TRP staff currently oversee a relatively smaller number of R21, R01, and R50 translational research grants. The breakdown of 2023 grants across organ sites and thematic SPOREs can be found here.

TRP also manages grants that are part of special initiatives when those grants are translational and are connected to the themes of currently funded SPOREs. An example is the R50 Research Specialist Career Awards where the applicant is integral to the work of a funded SPORE.

TRP is also involved in the following DCTD Activities:

• Small Cell Lung Cancer Consortium (SCLC-C)
• Pancreatic Stromal Reprogramming Consortium (PSRC)
• The Integrated Canine Data Commons
• Longitudinal Studies in Dogs with Cancer as a Comparative Oncology Model

Future Directions

Following are descriptions of TRP initiatives planned for future years:

• Encourage research that will enable precision medicine approaches, such as genomic and proteomic-based diagnostic technologies, that will allow cancer patients with specific molecular alterations to receive the most effective treatments
• Increase translational cancer research areas that are underrepresented in the NCI portfolio: pancreatic cancer, endometrial cancer, pediatric cancers, and cancers that display health disparities
• Advance studies on the dynamic relationship between tumors and cells/mediators in the microenvironment to make a difference in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, particularly in the area of immunotherapy
• Advance the goals of translational research by facilitating collaborations between SPOREs and other NCI-funded mechanisms such that discoveries can move quickly and seamlessly along pathways from the laboratory to Phase 1 and Phase 2 trials and beyond, with strong correlative study and biomarker support.

NCI Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD)

In partnership with NCI Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD), the TRP supports feasibility and planning activities (P20) to develop translational research programs focused on cancer health disparities research with the expectation that the research programs will become competitive for a full Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) awards.