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Principal Investigator: Sathish Venkatachalem
Organization: NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY
Fiscal Year: 2024
Award: $1,860,485
Funding agency: National Institute of General Medical Sciences
PROJECT SUMMARY
Although the survival for other cancers improved during the last ten years, the outlook for pancreatic ductal
adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains grim. The average overall 5-year survival rate for PDAC is 10.8%. The
mission of the Center for Diagnostic and Therapeutic Strategies in Pancreatic Cancer (CDTSPC) in Phase II is
to enhance and sustain biomedical research infrastructure at North Dakota State University (NDSU) by
developing externally-funded, independent translational research of the Junior Investigators, expanding Core
Facility services, and recruiting new investigators. The Covid pandemic-related restrictions hampered our
progress in Phase I. Still, the investigators received seven nationally competitive research grants totaling $9.6
million, published more than 50 papers, and graduated 17 Ph. D. students. Two Junior Investigators and three
pilot project leaders received tenure and promotion. NDSU hired four new Assistant Professors with research
emphasis on pancreatic cancer. Two new Core Facilities were set up – Animal Studies and Biostatistics. The
two facilities served 19 COBRE and 33 other investigators. The Animal Core Facility created comprehensive
mice models for the first time on campus, including 7 patient-derived mouse models (PDX) of pancreatic cancer.
CDTSPC is the only established Facility in North Dakota with the capacity to support foundational and
translational research on pancreatic cancer. In Phase II, we will further expand the biomedical infrastructure,
emphasizing translational research and prepare for a self-sustaining Center through the following Specific Aims.
Aim 1. Provide enhanced mentoring to develop sustainable, independent, translational research projects for
Junior Investigators. The three investigators will address three urgent challenges in pancreatic cancer: targeted
drug delivery to desmoplastic tumors, synthesis and evaluation of new therapeutic agents, and determining
epigenetic-genetic alternations in patient tissues for effective treatment. Each Junior Investigator will have two
external mentors to encompass foundational and translational aspects. In addition, a clinician-scientist will serve
as the Translational Science Liaison for the Center to bridge the foundational and translational elements.
Aim 2. Augment biomedical research infrastructure of NDSU by expanding COBRE Core Facilities. We will
expand the Animal Studies Core Facility to include tissue histology, imaging modalities, establish and maintain
additional genetically engineered models, continue developing the PDX model systems, and establish a tissue
biobank of human, PDX, and mouse pancreatic cancer tissues. In addition, the Biostatistics Core Facility will
expand services to support projects using "big data," bioinformatics, and machine-learning analysis.
Aim 3. Integrate the Center into the national pancreatic cancer network. We will expand collaboration with
eminent pancreatic cancer researchers in the US. We will build human capacity by hiring two new tenure track
faculty members and recruiting four new Pilot Project investigators with expertise in translational aspects of
pancreatic cancer. The Junior Investigators will compete for grants from NIH, NSF, DoD, and private foundations.
Terms: <American Cancer Society><Animals><Award><Big Data><BigData><Bio-Informatics><Bioinformatics><Biologic Models><Biological Models><Biomedical Research><Biometrics><Biometry><Biostatistics><Biostatistics Core><Body Tissues><COBRE><COVID crisis><COVID epidemic><COVID pandemic><COVID-19 crisis><COVID-19 epidemic><COVID-19 era><COVID-19 global health crisis><COVID-19 global pandemic><COVID-19 health crisis><COVID-19 pandemic><COVID-19 period><COVID-19 public health crisis><COVID-19 years><Cancers><Center of Biomedical Research Excellence><Centers of Research Excellence><Cessation of life><Clinical><Collaborations><Core Facility><Death><Death Rate><Dedications><Desmoplastic><Desmoplastic Reaction><Diagnosis><Diagnostic><Disease><Disorder><Drug Delivery><Drug Delivery Systems><Drug Targeting><Elements><Environment><Epigenetic><Epigenetic Change><Epigenetic Mechanism><Epigenetic Process><Equipment><Evaluation><Faculty><Fluorescence><Foundations><Funding><Funding Opportunities><Genetic><Genetic Alteration><Genetic Change><Genetic Engineering><Genetic Engineering Biotechnology><Genetic Engineering Molecular Biology><Genetic defect><Genetic predisposing factor><Goals><Grant><Histocytochemistry><Histology><Hospitals><Human><Image><Immunohistochemistry><Immunohistochemistry Cell/Tissue><Immunohistochemistry Staining Method><Incidence><Infrastructure><Institution><Investigators><Journals><MDACC><Machine Learning><Magazine><Maintenance><Malignant Neoplasms><Malignant Pancreatic Neoplasm><Malignant Tumor><Malignant neoplasm of pancreas><Medical center><Mentors><Metastasis><Metastasize><Metastatic Lesion><Metastatic Mass><Metastatic Neoplasm><Metastatic Tumor><Mice><Mice Mammals><Mission><Model System><Modeling><Modern Man><Multiomic Data><Murine><Mus><Mutation><NIH><National Institutes of Health><Nebraska><Neoplasm Metastasis><North Carolina><North Dakota><PDA model><PDAC Model><PDX model><Pancreas Cancer><Pancreas Ductal Adenocarcinoma><Pancreatic Cancer><Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma><Paper><Patient derived xenograft><Patients><Peer Review><Ph D student><Ph D. student><Ph. D. student><Ph.D student><Ph.D. student><PhD student><PhD. student><Phase><Physical distancing><Pilot Projects><Postdoc><Postdoctoral Fellow><Privatization><Publications><Publishing><R-Series Research Projects><R01 Mechanism><R01 Program><R24><Recombinant DNA Technology><Research><Research Associate><Research Grants><Research Infrastructure><Research Personnel><Research Project Grants><Research Projects><Researchers><SARS-CoV-2 epidemic><SARS-CoV-2 global health crisis><SARS-CoV-2 global pandemic><SARS-CoV-2 pandemic><SARS-coronavirus-2 epidemic><SARS-coronavirus-2 pandemic><SBIR><Science><Scientific Publication><Scientist><Secondary Neoplasm><Secondary Tumor><Secure><Services><Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoV 2 epidemic><Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoV 2 pandemic><Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 epidemic><Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic><Small Business Innovation Research><Small Business Innovation Research Grant><Social Distance><Survival Rate><Symptoms><Therapeutic><Therapeutic Agents><Time><Tissues><Translational Research><Translational Science><Travel><United States National Institutes of Health><Universities><University of Texas M D Anderson Cancer Center><University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center><Work><biobank><biorepository><cancer metastasis><career><coronavirus disease 2019 crisis><coronavirus disease 2019 epidemic><coronavirus disease 2019 global health crisis><coronavirus disease 2019 global pandemic><coronavirus disease 2019 health crisis><coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic><coronavirus disease 2019 public health crisis><coronavirus disease crisis><coronavirus disease epidemic><coronavirus disease pandemic><coronavirus disease-19 global pandemic><coronavirus disease-19 pandemic><design><designing><doctoral student><effective therapy><effective treatment><epigenetically><genetic risk factor><genetically engineered><genome mutation><graduate student><histochemistry><histochemistry/cytochemistry><image-based method><imaging><imaging method><imaging modality><improved><inherited factor><machine based learning><malignancy><member><model development><model developments><mortality rate><mortality ratio><mouse model><multiple omic data><murine model><neoplasm/cancer><new drug treatments><new drugs><new pharmacological therapeutic><new therapeutics><new therapy><next generation therapeutics><novel drug treatments><novel drugs><novel pharmaco-therapeutic><novel pharmacological therapeutic><novel therapeutics><novel therapy><pancreatic cancer model><pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma model><pancreatic malignancy><pancreatic tumor model><patient derived xenograft model><pilot study><post-doc><post-doctoral><post-doctoral trainee><professor><recruit><research associates><severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 global health crisis><severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 global pandemic><subcutaneous><subdermal><tenure process><tenure track><translation research><translational investigation><translational study><tumor><tumor cell metastasis>