Notes

NCI Launches Physical Sciences-Oncology Centers

On October 26, NCI awarded institutional grants establishing 12 Physical Science-Oncology Centers (PS-OC) as part of its Physical Sciences in Oncology initiative to better understand the laws and principles that shape and govern the emergence and behavior of cancer. The goal of the 5-year initiative is to engage transdisciplinary scientific teams from physics, mathematics, chemistry, and engineering to examine new, nontraditional approaches to cancer research.

Researchers will explore the physical laws and principles of cancer; evolution and evolutionary theory of cancer; information coding, decoding, transfer, and translation in cancer; and cancer’s complexity. These ongoing efforts will enable experts to explore innovative approaches to better understand, diagnose, treat, and control cancer.

The PS-OCs are based at:

A U.S. map showing the location of the 12 newly established Physical Sciences-Oncology Centers

• Arizona State University
• Cornell University
• H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute
• Johns Hopkins University
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
• Northwestern University
• Princeton University
• Scripps Research Institute
• University of California, Berkeley
• University of Southern California
• University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

Each of the PS-OCs has convened groups of experts that will support a transdisciplinary environment and promote research that: originates and tests novel, non-traditional physical sciences-based approaches to understand and control cancer; generates independent sets of physical measurements and integrates them with existing knowledge of cancer; and develops and evaluates approaches from the physical sciences to provide a comprehensive and dynamic picture of cancer.

Through coordinated development and testing of these approaches to studying cancer processes, the PS-OCs are expected to generate new bodies of knowledge in order to identify and define critical aspects of physics, chemistry, and engineering that operate at all levels in cancer processes.

“I truly believe the initiative’s objective of applying physical sciences and engineering perspectives and principles to cancer will lead to paradigm-shifting science toward understanding and, ultimately, treating the disease,” said Dr. Larry Nagahara, NCI PS-OC program director. “I’m very excited about the team of world-class researchers assembled in these centers and the fact that they will be working together as a collaborative network.”

Learn more about the PS-OCs online.

Spanish Clinical Trials Promotional Tools Available from NCI

NCI recently made available Spanish-language promotional posters and pins to increase awareness about clinical trials. The tools are intended to spark discussions with cancer patients who may be interested in enrolling in a trial. The posters and pins introduce patients to the concept of clinical trials, complement education and recruitment efforts, and serve as conversation starters to discuss trials in a general context before exploring specific trials with patients. The pins can also be worn by patients participating in clinical trials or their family members and friends—individuals who can help increase awareness.

For more information about the posters and pins, call NCI’s Cancer Information Service toll free at 1-800-4-CANCER or order them online by clicking: https://pubs.cancer.gov/ncipl.

Meet NCI Experts at APHA

Learn about NCI’s programs and Web sites by visiting booth #1113 in the exhibit hall during the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, PA. NCI experts will be available to talk about a wide range of topics. See the schedule below.

NCI exhibit booth