OICR launches suite of translational research projects as part of $400-million commitment

The Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) has received approval to spend another $52 million under its $400-million, five-year agreement with the Ontario government on a wide range of programs and initiatives aimed at translating its cutting-edge research into social and economic gains.

Each is developing more precise tools for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer through the application of leading-edge genomics, chemistry and bioinformatics. The funding also maintains OICR's participation in three international initiatives.

The 10-year-old institute and its collaborators have an annual budget of more than $150 million, much of which is allocated towards large-scale programs centering around critical questions identified in consultation with clinicians and headed by Dr Nicole Onetto, OICR's deputy director.

"It's a continuation of projects and some new initiatives. Nicole and I are top-down-enabling and work with clinicians to establish priority areas. The clinicians establish programs that are bottom driven. We use the combination of each approach to move the agenda forward," says Dr Tom Hudson, OICR's president and CEO. "We have $400 million in commitments but they have to be actualized in terms of programs. Last year it was our imaging programs and next year it's clinical programs. This year, all the projects are pre-clinical, from discovery to patients."

Hudson says OICR's new model of translational research means that everything it does is strategic and that its work with early breast and prostate cancer is internationally recognized.

OICR programs are in the $3 million to $5 million range and typically last four years. The latest funding announcement constitutes two years of funding with a mid-term review.

"I was recruited to grow the cancer research program in the province and I have a good grasp of where the area is going in the pre-clinical space. I also recruited Nicole for the Phase I and Phase II clinical trials," says Hudson.

translational focus

While OICR is gaining international recognition for its focus on translational research, it's best known globally for its leadership of the International Cancer Genome Consortium. OICR is the administrative headquarters for ICGC as well as home to its massive database which holds nearly 8,000 cancer genomes for the 17-nation consortium.

The need to manage the massive data generation of ICGC and other data-heavy programs led to the recently announced Global Alliance to Enable the Responsible Sharing of Genomic and Clinical Data, which OICR helped seed fund with $500,000 from the latest tranche of approved spending. (see story below).

"We have a dynamic approach to program monitoring and it needs government permission to move forward," says Hudson. "We are a best-in-class research translation institution with several long-term studies and assessments and funding commitments."

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