SPOREs
Breast
Cores
COMMUNICATIONS, PLANNING and ADMINISTRATION
The Core is charged with administrative oversight and performance management of the Projects, Cores, NCI-Avon Progress for Patients supplements, Career Development awards and Developmental Projects awards under this collaborative, multi-institutional translational grant.
For administrative oversight, the Core relies heavily on the skilled and experienced staff in the Department of Cancer Biology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) to support the SPORE Director in the management of budgets and subcontracts. For best practices, the staff strictly adheres to generally accepted accounting principles that provide clear financial reporting and oversight. For performance management of the Projects and Cores, the SPORE Director relies on Advisory Committees to assist him in evaluating their progress.
There are three advisory committees set up with defined roles: Breast Program/SPORE Steering Committee, External Advisory Board, and the Breast SPORE Director’s Leadership Counsel. In addition to the SPORE Director’s advisory groups, the Breast SPORE Core Coordinating Committee meets to review Core utilization and to discuss any issues that are of concern to the respective Cores. The Core provides vital integration of the SPORE with DF/HCC and the Program in Breast Cancer. Annually, the SPORE sponsors with the DF/HCC Program in Breast Cancer and DFCI Women’s Cancers Program, a symposium in breast cancer research.
The Core supports our Breast Cancer Advocacy Group. Currently, we have 15 active advocates in our group. Our Advocates regularly attend SPORE meetings, planning retreats, mini-Retreats, EAB retreats, and our annual breast cancer research symposium. Our Advocates are formally assigned to Projects and Cores with a researcher liaison available to assist in answering questions. Many of our Advocates have completed Project LEAD. Our Advocates have attended an annual course on “Breast Cancer: Current Controversies and New Horizons,” the annual ASCO Breast Cancer Symposium, and the annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
Performance monitoring:
1. External Advisory Board
2. Breast Program/SPORE Steering Committee
3. SPORE Core Coordinating Committee
4. SPORE Director’s Executive Counsel
Research Interchange:
1. Monthly Research in Progress meetings
2. Project/Core Mini-Retreats
3. Breast SPORE-wide Annual Retreat
4. External Advisory Board Retreat
5. Co-sponsors the annual spring Breast Cancer Research Symposium
6. Co-sponsors the weekly Breast Oncology Speaker Series
7. Supports attendance to SPORE workshops and roundtables.
External Advisory Board:
• Kimberley Blackwell, MD – Duke University Comprehensive Cancer Center
• James N. Ingle, MD - Mayo Clinic Cancer Center
• Gordon Mills, MD, PhD - MD Anderson Cancer Center
• Ramon Parsons, MD, PhD – Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer
• Gloria Petersen, PhD – Mayo Clinic Cancer Center
• Jennifer Pietenpol, PhD – Vanderbilt University Medical Center
• Thea Tlsty, PhD – UCSF
• Fred Waldman, MD, PhD – UCSF
Key Personnel
J. Dirk Iglehart, MD – DFCI – SPORE Director
Eric P. Winer, MD – DFCI
Liz Frank – DFCI – Advocacy Group Leader
Don Watson - SPORE Administrator
