The Oncology Models Forum (OMF) was launched by the NCI in 2014 to fund research into advancing standard practices for modeling human cancers in mice and to facilitate collaborations, data sharing, and harmonization of mouse models. In 2016, the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) was expanded to all mammalian model systems (PAR-16-059 ) and has been re-issued in 2017 (PAR-17-245 ), 2020 (PAR-20-131 ), and 2023 (PAR-23-281 ).
Unlike many hypothesis-driven and mechanistic R01 projects, this program is devoted to ensuring mammalian models used for translational research questions are appropriate for those purposes and the models provide reliable and informative data for patient benefit. The OMF now includes a range of models including canine, porcine, organoid, and cell line models, in addition to many diverse mouse model systems.
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OMF News and Highlights
OMF Scientist Highlight: Diego Castrillon
Dr. Castrillon is a Professor at the University of Texas Southwestern who is generating and characterizing animal models of cancer with high mutation rates that mimic human cancers. In addition to his research, he is making cancer modeling resources from his laboratory available to the community through Jackson Laboratory.
Dr. Castrillon’s team generated a conditional mouse allele that recapitulates the most frequent POLE mutation (that is commonly found in human cancers), which has been used to generate mouse tumor models with high mutational burdens. These models facilitate investigations of tumor biology and differ from other genetically engineered mouse cancer models that generally have very low mutation rates.
His laboratory also created a mouse strain that enables the development of new mouse models of endometrial cancer , including aggressive carcinosarcoma and Pole-ultramutated tumor types.
OMF Funding Opportunity
PAR-20-131 : Research Projects to Enhance Applicability of Mammalian Models for Translational Research (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
NCI and OMF Resources Related to Oncology Models
Human Cancer Models Initiative (HCMI) Catalog – Resource of patient-derived next-generation cancer models developed by HCMI, which is an international collaboration between NCI, Cancer Research UK, the Wellcome Sanger Institute, and Hubrecht Organoid TechnologyNCI Mouse Repository NCI-funded resource for mouse cancer models and associated strainsOncology Model Fidelity Score Single R – Analyzes cellular heterogeneity from single-cell RNA sequencing dataXcell – Analyzes cellular heterogeneity from bulk gene expression data
Funded Projects
Institution
Principal Investigator(s)
Project Title
University of California, San Francisco
Mary Helen Barcellos-Hoff
Definition of Immune Infiltrate Phenotype and DNA Damage Response Deficits Across Diverse Murine Mammary Carcinomas Broad Institute, Inc.
Jesse Samuel Boehm
Rapid ex vivo biosensor cultures to assess dependencies in gastroesophageal cancer Emory University
Nicholas M. Boulis, Peter Canoll
Lentiviral-Induced Swine Model of Spinal Cord Glioma Rockefeller University
Stylianos Bournazos
Novel Transgenic Mouse Models Addressing Outstanding Translational Barriers in Antibody-Based Therapeutics Northwestern University
Daniel J. Brat
Modeling the Glioblastoma Microenvironment to Uncover Progression Mechanisms and Therapeutic Targets University of Nebraska Medical Center
Mark A. Carlson
Development and Application of a Porcine Model of Pancreatic Cancer UT Southwestern Medical Center
Diego H. Castrillon
Polymerase-Mediated Ultramutagenesis and Carcinogenesis in Mice Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Alain Charest, Vassiliki A. Boussiotis
Advancing Treatment Outcomes in Malignant Glioma by Integrating Immunotherapy and Standard of Care Using Genetically Engineered Mice that Recapitulate Molecular Feature of Human Glioma
Mayo Clinic Arizona
Marta Chesi
Credentialing a Genetically Engineered Clinically-Relevant Mouse Model of Multiple Myeloma University of Michigan
Kathleen R. Cho
Modeling Factors Associated with Risk of High-Grade Serous Carcinoma in Mice Weill Medical College of Cornell University
Lukas Edward Dow
In Vivo Base Editing for Precision Oncology Models Washington University
Ryan C. Fields, Richard A. Flavell
Advancing Precision Oncology in a Humanized, Fully Autologous Mouse Model MD Anderson Cancer Center
Giannicola Genovese
Investigation of the Role of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Plasticity in Renal Cell Carcinoma Cincinnati Children’s Hospital
Leighton H. Grimes, Stephanie Halene
Modeling Myelodysplasia
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Jlenia Guarnerio
Comparative Modeling of Sarcoma Microenvironments for the Discovery of Biomarkers and Tumor Vulnerabilities Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Kevin Haigis
Mouse Models of Kras-Mutant Colorectal Cancer
Johns Hopkins University
Chien-Fu Hung, Richard Bruce Roden
Mouse Modeling of HPV Infection Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Tyler E. Jacks
Development of Novel Metastatic Mouse Models that Recapitulate the Major Immune Contexts of Human Colon Cancer Tufts Medical Center
Iris Z. Jaffe, Cheryl A. London
Credentialing a Cross-Species Platform to Investigate Cancer Therapy-Associated Cardiovascular Toxicity Yale University
Nikhil Joshi
Developing Translationally-Relevant Genetically Engineered Mouse Models of Lung Adenocarcinoma for Investigations in Cancer Immunology University of California, San Diego
Michael Karin
Highly Penetrant and Immunogenic Mouse Models of Non-Viral HCC that are Suitable for Evaluation of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors MD Anderson Cancer Center
Frederick F. Lang
A Novel Adenoviral-Permissive, Immunocompetent Hamster Model to Evaluate Oncolytic Adenoviral Therapy for Glioblastoma Uppsala University
Kerstin Lindblad-Toh
Enhancing the Dog as a Model for Human Cancers: From Genome Sequence Towards Clinical Trials Georgetown University
Xuefeng Liu
Conditionally Reprogrammed Cell Model for Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer (CRPC) Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Scott W. Lowe
Rapid and Flexible Precision Oncology Mouse Models of Epithelial Malignancies MD Anderson Cancer Center
Anirban Maitra
Translational Applications in an Animal Model of Pancreatic Cystic Neoplasm and Cancer University of California Los Angeles
David A. Nathanson, Thomas G. Graeber
Mammalian Models for Integrated Metabolic and Molecular Profiling of Malignant Glioma University of Pittsburgh
Steffi Oesterreich, Andrian V. Lee
Credentialing Models of Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer for Translational Research H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center
Eric Padron
Developing and Credentialing Patient-Derived Xenograft Models to Advance Therapeutic Approaches for Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia University of California, San Francisco
Susanna Rosi, Nalin Gupta
Myeloid Cells and Radiation-Induced Memory Deficits in Rodent Glioma Model: Sex and Age Effects Roswell Park Cancer Institute
Mukund Seshadri
Radiogenomic Credentialing of Head and Neck Cancer Models Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Jesse Joshua Smith
Expansion of Tumoroid Models for Precise Treatment of the Rectal Cancer Patient Duke University
Joshua Clair Snyder
Visualizing Tumor Heterogeneity in an Immune Intact and Autochthonous Mouse Model of Breast Cancer
University of California, San Francisco
Eric Alejandro Sweet-Cordero, David H. Haussler
Development of Advanced Preclinical Models for Pediatric Solid Tumors Johns Hopkins University
Tzyy-Choou Wu
Development of Novel Spontaneous HPV Cervicovaginal Carcinoma Models for Cancer Immunotherapy
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Hao Zhu
Improving Hepatocellular Carcinoma Mouse Modeling by Understanding the Malignant Potential and Biology of Liver Cell Subpopulations
