Stand Up To Cancer – Lustgarten Foundation Pancreatic Cancer Interception Dream Team

Submissions of ideas will be invited for a translational cancer research project that addresses critical problems in pancreatic cancer and positively impacts patients in the near future, with the goal of advancing innovative approaches to prevent or intercept the disease-causing process, and making data available in a format amenable to open access analytics. Prioritized areas of interest include both applied and fundamental research including: The discovery and implementation of innovative methods that effectively detects pancreatic cancer at an early and surgically curable stage; new tools for monitoring disease progression and therapeutic response, which could potentially serve as surrogate endpoints for clinical trials and regulatory approval; investigation of novel chemoprevention or immune prevention approaches; the development of risk prognostication methods for pre-invasive pancreatic neoplasms and other conditions that elucidates the molecular details underlying that increased risk; the understanding of immune suppression and inflammation mechanisms that promote pancreatic cancer and the design of methods to circumvent this; and more generally research targeted at generating sufficient knowledge to justify a clinical intervention to test novel hypotheses related to early detection and treatment of pancreatic cancer.

This proposed project is expected to benefit patients through investigation by a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional, synergistic Dream Team of expert investigators. Priority will be given to applications that are characterized by a diversity of team members, including those from fields outside the traditional realms of biomedical research (e.g. physics, mathematics, engineering, health policy, and communications). Specific aims of the project may include basic research, translational studies, and population studies but the overall proposal must have a strong clinical research component. Proposals for this Dream Team research project must present plans indicating how the work will be translated into clinical application. The concepts will be evaluated on innovation, feasibility, opportunities for success and further development, including improved long-term outcomes for patients.

Through a partnership with leading health care research and innovation collaborative OptumLabs, each team will have the ability to conduct research using OptumLabs' proprietary database of de-identified claims and electronic health record data, analytic tools, and research support to pursue the proposed goals of the Dream Team. Appendix A provides more information on OptumLabs. Collaboration with OptumLabs is optional, and anticipated participation should be delineated as part of the research proposal narrative.

OptumLabs will be conducting information sessions in late February for applicants who are interested in learning more about the OptumLabs Data Warehouse. A non-disclosure agreement will be required to participate in these sessions. If you would like more information or to register to attend, please email [email protected] by February 15, 2017 and include your name, institution and dream team leader name. OptumLabs will contact interested parties about next steps, including dates and times of the information sessions.