SPOREs
Kidney
Cores
Kidney SPORE Cores
Core 1: Administration, Evaluation and Planning
Director: Michael B. Atkins, MD (BIDMC)
Associate Director: Othon Iliopoulos, MD, PhD (MGH) and William Kaelin, MD (DFCI)
The purpose of the Administration, Evaluation, and Planning Core is to assure the coordination of the Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC) Kidney Cancer SPORE components and to provide oversight and leadership of the scientific, administrative and fiscal aspects of the SPORE. We will take advantage of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center's large and efficient administrative staff and its central Research Administration office. We will also work closely with the administrative office of the DF/HCC and work to integrate our Administrative activities with that of central Cancer Center. Within the DF/HCC Kidney Cancer SPORE, there are several layers of oversight and evaluation. Dr. Atkins, as SPORE Director, will monitor the progress of the Projects and Cores, and oversee the Career Development and Developmental Projects Programs and oversee all other proposed activities. Our Governance Committee, made up of senior members of the DF/HCC Kidney Cancer Program and patient advocates, will meet monthly to provide immediate decision-making. We have a strong Internal Advisory Board, comprised of prominent members of the Harvard Medical School community, and representing the participating institutions and major cancer research disciplines. Our External Advisory Board will meet as a group in New England area during years two and four of the five-year funding cycle and as individuals at DF/HCC institutions during the other years. The responsibilities of this core are to: 1) Monitor research progress and plan for the future; 2) Foster collaborative research within the SPORE and between SPOREs (both within the DF/HCC and without); 3) Integrate the Kidney SPORE into the DF/HCC structure; 4) Provide necessary resources and fiscal oversight; 5) Promote rapid dissemination of significant research findings; 6) Promote participation of minorities in renal cancer research and treatment programs within the SPORE and the DF/HCC; 7) Encourage new investigator participation in renal cancer research.
Core 2: Biostatistics
Core Director: Meredith Regan, ScD (DFCI)
The Biostatistics Core supports all research activities within the SPORE, including Projects, Developmental Projects and other Cores. The Core will provide collaboration and consultation on study design, data management/quality control, and data analysis and interpretation to SPORE researchers. Specific aims are to: 1) provide biostatistical collaboration for SPORE Projects, Developmental Projects, and Cores; 2) provide or recommend supporting computational infrastructure and 3) provide consulting and statistical mentoring to SPORE researchers.
Core 3: Tissue Acquisition, Pathology, and Clinical Data
Core Director: Sabina Signoretti, MD (BWH)
Core Co-Directors: David McDermott, MD (BIDMC) and Toni Choueiri, M.D. (DFCI)
The Tissue Acquisition, Pathology, and Clinical Data (TAPCD) Core has several purposes, the first and foremost of which is to maintain a tissue, blood, and urine repository for the various investigators participating in this SPORE. This task involves the collection, freezing and storage of renal cell carcinoma and paired normal kidney tissue as well as blood and urine from RCC patients. This Core will serve as a central facility, coordinating the activities of the pathologists and Tissue Banks at all of the DF/HCC institutions. This Core will be responsible for the dissection and provision of tumor tissue for gene microarray studies and for the fixation and sectioning of tissue for routine histology, immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization, computer-assisted image analysis, laser capture microdissection and for the generation and interrogation of tissue microarrays as required by SPORE investigators. The TAPCD Core will also be responsible for the maintenance of a clinical database on all consenting RCC patients. This database as well as the specimen tracking and secured data management systems will provide an informatics link throughout the participating DF/HCC hospitals which will allow for the sharing of clinical outcome data among SPORE investigators. The TAPCD will collaborate with the Biostatistics Core in data analysis and auditing. This arrangement will facilitate the analysis of clinical data from RCC patients enrolled in clinical trials at the various DF/HCC institutions and the correlation of clinical data with the various laboratory assays being carried out as part of individual SPORE projects.
