NCAB Hears of Changes to the NIH Roadmap
At its quarterly meeting last week, the National Cancer Advisory Board (NCAB) heard an update and plans for changes to the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research.

Dr. Dinah Singer, director of NCI's Division of Cancer Biology, provided a historical overview of the Roadmap mission and vision; the scientific programs that have been funded; and a description of the new "Transformative R01" grants, a 5-year pilot program with funding opportunities to be announced this year.

Six areas of special emphasis for fiscal year 2009 have been identified: new protein-capture technologies, the science of behavior change, functional variation in mitochondrial disease, 3-D tissue models, the transition from acute to chronic pain, and pharmacogenomics.

A videocast of the 2-day meeting can be found at http://videocast.nih.gov/PastEvents.asp.

New HMO Cancer Research Network Booklet Available Online
A new publication about NCI's HMO Cancer Research Network (CRN) is now available online. It describes the CRN's research agenda, accomplishments, capacity, and future research potential. It also serves as a "user's guide" for potential collaborators. The brochure outlines how researchers can become partners with CRN members to utilize the network's unique research resources and scientific expertise.

The CRN provides a framework for leading and working with others to address cancer research challenges in the areas of prevention, early detection, treatment, survivorship, surveillance, and end-of-life care. The CRN is also uniquely positioned to study the quality of cancer care in community-based settings.

The network includes research organizations affiliated with 14 large health care delivery systems covering nearly 11 million individuals and enables access to community-based health care systems data and health informatics, allowing for large, multicenter, multidisciplinary intervention research that addresses the spectrum of cancer control issues.

Abstracts Being Accepted for Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Symposium
NCI's Center for Cancer Research (CCR) will host a 2-day, national symposium called "Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy: Realizing the Promise" on September 11-12 in Masur and Lipsett Auditoriums on the NIH campus.

Sponsored by CCR's Center of Excellence in Immunology, this meeting will host leaders in the field of cancer immunology and immunotherapy, include recent advances in both translational and clinical research, and provide a forum for discussion and debate on promising immunologic approaches to prevent and treat cancer.

Abstracts are being accepted for the poster session. The deadline for submission is July 15. Registration is free, but seating is limited. Online registration and instructions for abstract submission can be found at http://web.ncifcrf.gov/events/CancerImmunology/default.asp.

The full program can be found at http://web.ncifcrf.gov/events/CancerImmunology/program.asp. For conference-related questions, contact Karen Kochersberger at kochersbergerks@mail.nih.gov or 301-228-4027.

Disparities Summit Scheduled for July 14-16
The 2008 Cancer Health Disparities Summit will take place July 14-16 at the Bethesda North Marriott Conference Center and Hotel in Bethesda, MD. The theme of this year's conference is "Eliminating Cancer Health Disparities Through Science, Training, and Community."

Summit '08 will share evidence-based prevention, screening, treatment, and survivorship interventions from the Community Networks Program, Minority Institution and Cancer Center Partnerships, and Patient Navigation Research Program.

This year's summit will also showcase scientific efforts in diversifying the cancer health disparities training pipeline and provide grant-writing basics, components to build a successful research career, and a mock review session for the Continuing Umbrella of Research Experiences (CURE) program.

The summit is sponsored by NCI's Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities. On-site registration will be available. For more information about this meeting, go to: http://www.cancermeetings.org/CHDSummit08/index.cfm.