There are three established research programs within the Cancer Therapy and Research Center: Cancer Prevention and Population Science , Genomic Integrity and Tumor Development, and Experimental Therapeutics. Each program is characterized by the following attributes:
* A recognized program leader.
* Substantial, independent peer-reviewed cancer research activities.
* Active members from diverse departments, disciplines, and specialties.
* Ongoing intra- and inter- programmatic interactions.
A common theme found in each program's objectives is the goal to translate cancer research findings in one discipline, whether laboratory, clinical or population-based research, across the spectrum of other research disciplines to improve methods of cancer prevention, diagnosis, early detection and treatment. The cancer center promotes interdisciplinary cancer research within each program by providing the core resources, facilities and interactive forums needed to achieve each program's scientific goals and objectives. In addition, interprogrammatic interactions are facilitated through program meetings, retreats, seminars, major symposia and other activities, with particular emphasis on enhancing collaborations between basic and clinical research.
Specific objectives of the established research programs are based on the outstanding expertise of the selected membership, which includes:
* DNA repair response pathways
* Tumor suppressor genes
*Gene discovery
*Regulation of gene expression
*Growth regulation
*Signal transduction
*Protein-protein interactions
*Structural biology
*Preclinical cancer research
*Inhibition of tumor growth
*Cancer metastasis and invasion
*Multiple myeloma bone disease
*Prostate cancer epidemiology, biomarkers and chemoprevention
*Tumor-host relationships
*Relationships between aging and cancer
*Microarray technology
*Prognostic factors
*Development of biomarkers
*Anticancer drug development for both adult and pediatric populations
*Response to anticancer agents
*Pharmacokinetics
*Single and multimodality cancer treatment regimens
*Cancer prevention and early detection
*Cancer risk assessment
*Clinical genetics
*Cancer-related, population-based studies, particularly in large Hispanic populations
*Obesity as a risk/prognostic factor for cancer
