Patient-Derived Models of Cancer Program

The Patient-Derived Models of Cancer (PDMC) program is developing and characterizing patient-derived models to define the biological mechanisms that drive cancer phenotype and response to perturbations. The program is testing and comparing distinct patient-derived models developed from common patient samples with the objective of improving the understanding of the strengths and limitations of different patient-derived models as representatives of human tumors. Additionally, the program is undertaking systematic studies of patient-derived model parameters related to intrinsic tumor factors and microenvironmental pressures to explore fundamental cancer biology research questions. The goal of the PDMC is to improve patient-derived models for cancer biology research that may inform the development of novel cancer therapies.   

The PDMC program consists of specialized U01 research projects. The multidisciplinary teams of these projects include researchers with expertise in sample procurement, patient-derived models, cancer biology, computational science and other disciplines. Additionally, the PDMC has a unique framework for sharing data and best practices to accelerate and standardize efforts related to the use of patient-derived models across the cancer research community.

The PDMC was funded through PAR-16-344: Biological Comparisons in Patient-Derived Models of Cancer. Monthly steering committee meetings are co-chaired by Drs. Rosalie Sears and Anita Hjelmeland. The program is comprised of the following U01 projects:

Funded Projects (as of March 2020)

Institution	MPI Contact	Project Title
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory – Jackson Laboratory	Dr. David Tuveson	CSHL-JAX Patient-Derived Models of Pancreatic Cancer as Systems for Investigating Tumor Heterogeneity
Duke University	Dr. Xiling Shen	Epigenomic Reprogramming in Patient Derived Models of Colorectal Cancer
Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago	Dr. Xiao-Nan Li	Matching Panels of in vivo and in vitro Model System of Pediatric Brain Tumors
Oregon Health & Science University	Dr. Rosalie C. Sears	Comparative Analysis between Patient-derived Models of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinomas and Matched Tumor Specimens
University of Alabama at Birmingham	Dr. Christopher D. Willey	Biological Comparisons Among Three Derivative Models of Glioma Patient Cancers Under Microenvironmental Stress
University of California, San Francisco	Dr. John Kurhanewicz	Metabolic Imaging Comparisons of Patient-Derived Models of Renal Cell Carcinoma
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center	Dr. Nora Navone	Patient-Derived Models of Prostate Cancer for Personalized Medicine
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center	Dr. Sean Morrison	The Metabolic Regulation of Melanoma Metastasis
University of Utah	Dr. Bryan E. Welm	Longitudinal Models of Breast Cancer for Studying Mechanisms of Therapy Response and Resistance
Yale University	Dr. Katie Politi	Uncovering the Biology of Resistance to TKI in EGFR Mutant Lung Cancer