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Radiation Oncology at the Interface of Pediatric Cancer Biology and Data Science

Award Number: U54CA274516
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/19/2023
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 08/31/2028

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Radiation Oncology at the Interface of Pediatric Cancer Biology and Data Science - Project Summary Basic scientists and clinical investigators from Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC) join forces with their counterparts at University of California, San Francisco’s (UCSF) Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center to propose a Harvard/UCSF ROBIN Center. Our Objective is to improve potency and selectivity of two key radiation modalities--external beam radiation and radiopharmaceuticals. A distinctive feature of our ROBIN Center is its selection of two clinically aggressive pediatric tumors--diffuse midline glioma (DMG) and high-risk neuroblastoma (NBL) – as scientific vehicles for the study plan. The genetic drivers of these two pediatric cancers are found also in more common adult solid tumors. Moreover, the low mutational burden of these pediatric cancers provides a clean genetic background for the “low N/high content” Molecular Characterization Trials (MCTs) specified by the ROBIN RFA. The malignant cells within DMG and NBL are heterogenous with respect to developmental stage. The central hypothesis of our study plan is that this developmental heterogeneity is echoed at the level of radiation-response mechanisms and enables radiation resistance. Our study plan features two research projects configured to test predictions of this hypothesis. Project 1 draws upon paired samples of pre-and post-radiotherapy tumor tissue from children treated prospectively with a uniform radiotherapy regimen to test the prediction that radiation selects for radioresistant intra-tumoral variants. Project 2 tests the prediction that 131I-MIBG therapy of aggressive neuroblastoma selects for intra-tumoral subtypes with unfavorable responses to treatment. Our ROBIN MCT provides resources needed to complete the objectives and specific aims of the two Projects. Multimodal analysis and mathematical modeling of data from the Projects and the MCT will be performed in a Clinical Artificial Intelligence and Imaging Core and a Molecular Data Science and Advanced Dosimetry Core. A Cross- Training Core and an Administrative Core will support scientific activities and serve also as the Center’s “outward face” to the broader scientific community and lay public. The Center will serve as a “value-added” component of the NCI’s extramural support mission by leveraging (i) P30 core facilities of DF/HCC and UCSF, (ii) a U54-funded DFCI Physical Sciences Oncology Center, and (iii) the NCI's Experimental Therapeutics Clinical Trials Network and National Clinical Trials Networks. Conversely, an NCI ROBIN award to the Harvard/UCSF Center would be “value-added” to the field of radiation oncology by catalyzing productive interactions between radiation biology, artificial intelligence, and data science – disciplines that are well-established in Boston and San Francisco but have never been applied coordinately to the problem of radioresistance. Center co-leads, Professors Daphne Haas-Kogan M.D. and Franziska Michor, Ph.D. have much experience in management of multi-investigator, multi-institutional research programs together with complementary skillsets in radiation oncology and advanced data science.


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 = $1,531,447 )
2026	2026	DANA-FARBER CANCER INSTITUTE, INC.	450 BROOKLINE AVE	BOSTON	MA	02215	SUFFOLK	USA	Cancer Centers Support Grants	001	4	9/2/2026	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$1,531,447
2026	2025	DANA-FARBER CANCER INSTITUTE, INC.	450 BROOKLINE AVE	BOSTON	MA	02215	SUFFOLK	USA	Cancer Centers Support Grants	000	3	8/12/2026	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $1,531,447

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $1,606,288 )
2025	2025	DANA-FARBER CANCER INSTITUTE, INC.	450 BROOKLINE AVE	BOSTON	MA	02215	SUFFOLK	USA	Cancer Centers Support Grants	001	3	9/4/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$1,606,288
2025	2024	DANA-FARBER CANCER INSTITUTE, INC.	450 BROOKLINE AVE	BOSTON	MA	02215	SUFFOLK	USA	Cancer Centers Support Grants	000	2	3/20/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $1,606,288

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $1,781,426 )
2024	2024	DANA-FARBER CANCER INSTITUTE, INC.	450 BROOKLINE AVE	BOSTON	MA	02215	SUFFOLK	USA	Cancer Centers Support Grants	001	2	8/28/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$1,531,427
2024	2024	DANA-FARBER CANCER INSTITUTE, INC.	450 BROOKLINE AVE	BOSTON	MA	02215	SUFFOLK	USA	21st Century Cures Act - Beau Biden Cancer Moonshot	002	2	9/20/2024	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$249,999
2024	2023	DANA-FARBER CANCER INSTITUTE, INC.	450 BROOKLINE AVE	BOSTON	MA	02215	SUFFOLK	USA	Cancer Centers Support Grants	000	1	5/30/2024	NEW	$0
														Subtotal = $1,781,426

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $1,645,000 )
2023	2023	DANA-FARBER CANCER INSTITUTE, INC.	450 BROOKLINE AVE	BOSTON	MA	02215	SUFFOLK	USA	Cancer Centers Support Grants	000	1	9/19/2023	NEW	$1,645,000
														Subtotal = $1,645,000

Grand Total All Awards = $6,564,161

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Radiation Oncology at the Interface of Pediatric Cancer Biology and Data Science

Award Number: U54CA274516

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT

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

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/19/2023

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 08/31/2028

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