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Oncology Models Forum

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Oncology Models Forum

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) and 2020 (PAR-20-131). 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.

OMF News and Highlights

OMF Scientist Highlight: Shaying Zhao

Dr. Zhao is a Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and a Professor of the Institute of Bioinformatics at the University of Georgia. Her laboratory uses a novel human-dog comparison strategy to identify cancer-causative gene mutations for various cancers. In her OMF research, she is attempting to bridge the current gap between preclinical trials and human clinical trials by building software tools and data resources to predict attractive targets for cancer immunotherapies.

Her work was recently published in Nature Communications and featured in an @NCICancerBio tweet.

OMF Meetings

December 9, 2021
Oncology Models Forum Fall Seminar

July 27, 2021
Oncology Models Forum Summer Seminar

March 30-31, 2021
Oncology Models Forum Annual Meeting (Virtual) 

January 30, 2020
NCI Oncology Models Forum Meeting (NCI Shady Grove)

November 8, 2018
NCI Oncology Models Forum Meeting (University of California, San Francisco)

September 18-19, 2017
Immune Interventions in Oncology: A Think Tank on Modeling Opportunities using Mice and Human Specimens (NCI Shady Grove)

  • 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 Technology
  • NCI Mouse Repository – NCI-funded resource for mouse cancer models and associated strains
  • Oncology Model Fidelity Score – Uses the Hallmarks of Cancer to compare cancer animal models to human cancer
  • Single R – Analyzes cellular heterogeneity from single-cell RNA sequencing data
  • Xcell – Analyzes cellular heterogeneity from bulk gene expression data

Funded Projects

Project Title Institution Principal Investigator(s)
Definition of Immune Infiltrate Phenotype and DNA Damage Response Deficits Across Diverse Murine Mammary Carcinomas (R01CA239235) University of California, San Francisco Barcellos-Hoff, Mary Helen
Rapid ex vivo biosensor cultures to assess dependencies in gastroesophageal cancer (R01CA248280) Broad Institute, Inc. Boehm, Jesse Samuel
Lentiviral-Induced Swine Model of Spinal Cord Glioma (R01CA251393) Emory University Boulis, Nicholas M; Canoll, Peter
Novel Transgenic Mouse Models Addressing Outstanding Translational Barriers in Antibody-Based Therapeutics (R01CA244327) Rockefeller University Bournazos, Stylianos
Modeling the Glioblastoma Microenvironment to Uncover Progression Mechanisms and Therapeutic Targets (R01CA247905) Northwestern University  Brat, Daniel J
Development and Application of a Porcine Model of Pancreatic Cancer (R01CA222907) University of Nebraska Medical Center Carlson, Mark A
Polymerase-Mediated Ultramutagenesis and Carcinogenesis in Mice (R01CA237405) UT Southwestern Medical Center Castrillon, Diego H

Advancing Treatment Outcomes in Malignant Glioma by Integrating Immunotherapy and Standard of Care Using Genetically Engineered Mice that Recapitulate Molecular Feature of Human Glioma (R01CA229784)

 Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Charest, Alain; Boussiotis, Vassiliki A
Credentialing a Genetically Engineered Clinically-Relevant Mouse Model of Multiple Myeloma (R01CA234181) Mayo Clinic Arizona Chesi, Marta
Modeling Factors Associated with Risk of High-Grade Serous Carcinoma in Mice (R01CA226756) University of Michigan Cho, Kathleen R
In Vivo Base Editing for Precision Oncology Models (R01CA229773) Weill Medical College of Cornell University Dow, Lukas Edward
Advancing Precision Oncology in a Humanized, Fully Autologous Mouse Model (R01CA248277) Washington University Fields, Ryan C; Flavell, Richard A
Investigation of the Role of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Plasticity in Renal Cell Carcinoma (R01CA258226) MD Anderson Cancer Center Genovese, Giannicola

Modeling Myelodysplasia (R01CA253981)

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital

Grimes, H Leighton; Halene, Stephanie
Comparative Modeling of Sarcoma Microenvironments for the Discovery of Biomarkers and Tumor Vulnerabilities (R01CA258265) Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Guarnerio, Jlenia

Mouse Models of Kras-Mutant Colorectal Cancer (R01CA246653)

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Haigis, Kevin
Mouse Modeling of HPV Infection (R01CA233486) Johns Hopkins University Hung, Chien-Fu; Roden, Richard Bruce
Development of Novel Metastatic Mouse Models that Recapitulate the Major Immune Contexts of Human Colon Cancer (R01CA233983) Massachusetts Institute of Technology Jacks, Tyler E
Credentialing a Cross-Species Platform to Investigate Cancer Therapy-Associated Cardiovascular Toxicity (R01CA243542) Tufts Medical Center Jaffe, Iris Z (Contact); London, Cheryl A
Developing Translationally-Relevant Genetically Engineered Mouse Models of Lung Adenocarcinoma for Investigations in Cancer Immunology (R01CA237037) Yale University Joshi, Nikhil
Highly Penetrant and Immunogenic Mouse Models of Non-Viral HCC that are Suitable for Evaluation of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors (R01CA234128) University of California, San Diego Karin, Michael
A Novel Adenoviral-Permissive, Immunocompetent Hamster Model to Evaluate Oncolytic Adenoviral Therapy for Glioblastoma (R01CA247970) MD Anderson Cancer Center Lang, Frederick F
Enhancing the Dog as a Model for Human Cancers: From Genome Sequence Towards Clinical Trials (R01CA225755) Uppsala University Lindblad-Toh, Kerstin
Conditionally Reprogrammed Cell Model for Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer (CRPC) (R01CA222148) Georgetown University Liu, Xuefeng
Rapid and Flexible Precision Oncology Mouse Models of Epithelial Malignancies (R01CA233944) Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Lowe, Scott W
Translational Applications in an Animal Model of Pancreatic Cystic Neoplasm and Cancer (R01CA218004) MD Anderson Cancer Center Maitra, Anirban
Mammalian Models for Integrated Metabolic and Molecular Profiling of Malignant Glioma (R01CA227089) University of California Los Angeles Nathanson, David A; Graeber, Thomas G
Credentialing Models of Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer for Translational Research (R01CA252378) University of Pittsburgh Oesterreich, Steffi; Lee, Adrian V
Developing and Credentialing Patient-Derived Xenograft Models to Advance Therapeutic Approaches for Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia (R37CA234021) H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center Padron, Eric
Myeloid Cells and Radiation-Induced Memory Deficits in Rodent Glioma Model: Sex and Age Effects (R01CA246722) University of California, San Francisco Rosi, Susanna; Gupta, Nalin
Radiogenomic Credentialing of Head and Neck Cancer Models (R01CA243456) Roswell Park Cancer Institute Seshadri, Mukund
Expansion of Tumoroid Models for Precise Treatment of the Rectal Cancer Patient (R37CA248289) Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Smith, Jesse Joshua

Visualizing Tumor Heterogeneity in an Immune Intact and Autochthonous Mouse Model of Breast Cancer (R01CA255372)

Duke University

Snyder, Joshua Clair
Development of Advanced Preclinical Models for Pediatric Solid Tumors (R01CA243555) University of California, San Francisco Sweet-Cordero, Eric Alejandro; Haussler, David H

Development of Novel Spontaneous HPV Cervicovaginal Carcinoma Models for Cancer Immunotherapy (R01CA237067)

Johns Hopkins University

Wu, Tzyy-Choou

Improving Hepatocellular Carcinoma Mouse Modeling by Understanding the Malignant Potential and Biology of Liver Cell Subpopulations (R01CA251928)

UT Southwestern Medical Center

Zhu, Hao

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