Developmental Research Program

Director - Marc A. Shuman, MD

In combination with institutional funding, the Developmental Core provides support for four goals: Attract outstanding UCSF scientists and clinical investigators to the field of prostate cancer, and to promote innovative collaborative research between the two groups; encourage collaborations between UCSF investigators with diverse skills, which will result in new research projects; assist in the development of the careers of UCSF junior faculty in the basic and clinical sciences; and recruit to UCSF junior faculty in basic and clinical areas of research, which will enhance and expand the current research program.

Career Development Faculty
June Chan, ScD, recruited to UCSF in January 2001, is undertaking prostate cancer-related efforts with these aims:

• To recruit and enroll prostate cancer patients from the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center into an observational cohort study on dietary and lifestyle predictors of prostate cancer recurrence, progression, and mortality. We are also now applying for IRB approval to add a blood draw to this study to enhance the broader value of the cohort.
• To review the medical charts of these patients biannually to document secondary prostate cancer outcomes (e.g. clinical evidence of progression or mortality).
• To analyze statistical associations between self-reported dietary and lifestyle data and serum molecular/genetic markers with secondary prostate cancer outcomes.

Career Development Mentoring Program
In order to provide optimal research training and faculty development, this program is aimed at mentoring MD and MD-PhD urologic, radiation therapy, and medical oncology research fellows, and PhD research postdoctoral fellows and new Assistant Professors. Given the interdepartmental nature of the Program, each fellow/new faculty is assigned two faculty mentors, who offer advice about research and career development, for example setting priorities, management of personnel, and time management, and preparing grant applications. In the case of fellows, one of the mentors is the faculty member who is supervising the fellow's research project directly.

Developmental Research Projects, Years 01-04