$1.7M DOD grant funds virtual cancer center to support research into military health

(Press-News.org) A University of Arizona Comprehensive Cancer Center researcher received a $1.7 million grant from the Department of Defense to continue the Convergent Science Virtual Cancer Center, which broadens the scope of education for cancer research trainees through an emergent, cross-disciplinary approach known as convergent science.  

The Convergent Science Virtual Cancer Center – a partnership between the U of A Cancer Center and the Convergent Science Institute in Cancer at the University of Southern California – strengthens scholars’ expertise in military health to address cancer risk factors that are faced by service members, military families and veterans.

“This program reimagines how we train cancer researchers,” said Dr. Dan Theodorescu, Nancy C. and Craig M. Berge endowed chair for the director of the U of A Cancer Center and director of the Convergent Science Virtual Cancer Center. “By converging experts in biology, physics, engineering, mathematics and more, we’re creating an opportunity where scholars are equipped to solve the most complex challenges in cancer while also focusing on active-duty service members and veterans’ needs and perspectives.”  

The program provides scholars with personalized mentorship, immersive workshops and non-traditional educational opportunities, helping them build networks and skills to improve patient outcomes across a wide range of cancers.  

Annual in-person workshops and curriculum development are being led by Peter Kuhn, a research innovator in personalized cancer treatment and professor at the University of Southern California and deputy director of the Virtual Cancer Center.

“The cancer-specific health needs of our nation’s veterans and active-duty service members, their family members and the American public at large are often distinct but overlapping,” Kuhn said. “The Virtual Cancer Center brings attention to the details and ensures maximum benefit of the science for all. Bringing a convergent approach can improve our ability to address differences and leverage overlaps to improve cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment for the public at large.”

Continuous development curriculum with an emphasis on military health is being overseen by associate director Dr. Robert Kortum, associate professor in pharmacology and molecular therapeutics and director of the MD/PhD program at Uniformed Services University.

The program also features robust engagement with patient advocates, including a six-member consumer advocate advisory board. A special advisor on military health helps the Virtual Cancer Center address the needs of active-duty service members and veterans, as well as military families, physicians and researchers. 

“This goes beyond traditional multidisciplinary research. It represents a true integration of diverse fields to achieve breakthroughs that would be impossible in isolation,” said Theodorescu, who is also a professor of urology at the College of Medicine – Tucson. “Our scholars are being taught how to bring this convergent approach to a variety of cancer types that have been identified as particularly relevant to military families.”   

The continuation of the Convergent Science Virtual Cancer Center builds on the success of the original 2020 program, which brought together 15 early-career scholars and connected them with mentors and research networks.

“This Virtual Cancer Center focused on convergent science is emblematic of our strategy to revolutionize cancer research and care,” said Theodorescu, who is internationally known for his work on the molecular mechanisms that drive cancer including the recent discovery of the functional impact that loss of the Y chromosome has on cancer aggressiveness and treatment response.

“By empowering the next generation of researchers to tackle the problem of cancer as it presents itself to military health, we’re taking real steps toward a future where cancer is not only treatable but manageable, and even curable, for all patients.”  

The Virtual Cancer Center is funded by the Department of Defense and awarded through a request for applications issued by the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program and the Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program. 

END