National Cancer Institute designates UCLA brain cancer program a site of research excellence

The brain cancer program at UCLA ’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and the UCLA Brain Tumor Center has been designated a Specialized Program of Research Excellence, or SPORE, by the National Cancer Institute, making it one of only five brain cancer programs nationwide to receive this national recognition and substantial rese arch funding.The designation comes with an $11.4 million, five-year grant that recognizes UCLA ’s brain cancer program as one of the best in the country. The program supports research into the prevention, detection and treatment of one of the most lethal and deadly cancers, which often receives far less funding than other types of cancers.The SPORE designation is the second for the Jonsson Cancer Center. In October 2002, the prostate cancer program was named a center of research excellence, and was renewed in August 2013 for its third five-year funding cycle, receiving an $11.6 million grant from the National Cancer Institute.These grants promote cooperation among scientists in different disciplines, and UCLA ’s program will partner researchers and clinicians to translate basic research from the laboratories into patient clinical trials much more quickly and effectively, said Dr. Linda Liau, professor and chair of neurosurgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and director of the UCLA Brai n Tumor Program.“We now stand at the beginning of a paradigm shift in how we understand the biology of brain cancer, and can develop more effe...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news