Saturday, March 14, 2026 3/14/2026

Uncovering Causal Protein Markers to Characterize Pancreatic Cancer Etiology and Improve Risk Prediction

Award Number: U01CA293883
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/18/2024
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 02/28/2030

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

Uncovering Causal Protein Markers to Characterize Pancreatic Cancer Etiology and Improve Risk Prediction - Pancreatic cancer (PC) is the third leading cause of cancer mortality in the United States. The vast majority of PC are pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). The etiology of PDAC is not fully understood. Basic research supports a crucial role of certain proteins in PDAC development. Epidemiological studies also have identified multiple candidate protein biomarkers for PDAC. However, findings with many of these protein biomarkers have been inconsistent, potentially due to major methodological limitations, such as selection bias and uncontrolled confounding. Besides understanding etiology, identifying causal protein biomarkers can potentially contribute to improving risk prediction. For PC, substantial efforts have been made to identify high-risk populations for improving PC screening. However, the performance of available PC risk prediction models remains unsatisfactory. There are critical needs to 1) apply a novel study design with reduced limitations of conventional biomarker studies for characterizing PC causally related protein biomarkers to improve the etiology understanding; and 2) develop improved prediction models that may effectively facilitate PC risk assessment. One strategy to potentially decrease limitations of unmeasured confounding is to use genetic instruments for assessing the relationship between proteins and PDAC. While our previous studies have utilized proteins measured in blood, it is also critical to study pancreatic ductal tissue, the most relevant tissue for PDAC development, as levels of many proteins show tissue-specific effects. The proposed project will apply a series of new studies to address these important knowledge gaps. Specifically, we will 1) conduct a study to identify putative causal protein biomarkers for PDAC risk by applying novel methods (Aim 1); 2) functionally characterize top protein biomarkers for their roles in PC biology (Aim 2); and 3) develop and validate prediction models for PC risk, by incorporating newly identified candidate protein biomarkers and integrating results from multiple statistical methods (Aim 3). Given the strong pilot data, unique resources, and our team's extensive expertise and experience, we are uniquely positioned to conduct this project. Our study will generate important new knowledge for PC etiology, and develop improved PC risk prediction models.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = $1 )
2026	2025	UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII	2425 CAMPUS RD SINCLAIR RM 1	HONOLULU	HI	96822	HONOLULU	USA	Cancer Cause and Prevention Research	000	2	3/2/2026	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$683,661
2026	2025	LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER NEW ORLEANS	433 BOLIVAR ST RM 619	NEW ORLEANS	LA	70112	ORLEANS	USA	Cancer Cause and Prevention Research	001	3	3/3/2026	CHANGE OF GRANTEE / TRAINING INSTITUTION / AWARDING INSTITUTION	$683,662
														Subtotal = $1

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $683,662 )
2025	2025	UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII	2425 CAMPUS RD SINCLAIR RM 1	HONOLULU	HI	96822	HONOLULU	USA	Cancer Cause and Prevention Research	000	2	9/9/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$683,662
														Subtotal = $683,662

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $737,444 )
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII	2425 CAMPUS RD SINCLAIR RM 1	HONOLULU	HI	96822	HONOLULU	USA	Cancer Cause and Prevention Research	000	1	9/18/2024	NEW	$737,444
														Subtotal = $737,444

Grand Total All Awards = $1,421,107

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

Uncovering Causal Protein Markers to Characterize Pancreatic Cancer Etiology and Improve Risk Prediction

Award Number: U01CA293883

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/18/2024

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 02/28/2030

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer