Integrative Research Centers
Center for Clinical and Translational Research
Lee Nadler, MD The Center for Clinical and Translational Research was
established to improve the infrastructure for clinical and
translational research and to develop the next generation of
clinical investigators. To support the increasing number and
complexity of clinical trials at Dana-Farber, the Center
established the Clinical Research Center and the Clinical Research
Laboratory. The Clinical Research Center provides a facility where
first-in-human and proof-of-concept clinical experiments can be
conducted with the highest quality and safety. The facility will
double in capacity when the Yawkey Center for Cancer Care opens in 2011. The Clinical Research
Laboratory was founded to ensure the accuracy and quality of
specimens obtained from subjects on clinical trials. It establishes
individual standard operating procedures for each clinical trial,
and then processes, stores, and retrieves the human clinical
research specimens, markedly improving the quality of the trial
endpoints.
Next Generation of Clinical Investigators Program
Bruce Johnson, MD The Next Generation of Clinical Investigators Program was
established to recruit, mentor, and support a cadre of promising
clinical investigators. These investigators develop collaborations
with other faculty at Dana-Farber and establish partnerships with
industry on first-in-human and early phase clinical trials. A grant
from the Dana Foundation has funded the initial group of Next
Generation Investigators; additional investigators will be
recruited to the program over the next several years.
Translational Research Laboratory
Pasi Jänne, MD, PhD The Translational Research Laboratory (TRL), supported by a
generous grant from Dunkin' Donuts, was established to define
patient subsets with specific outcomes and, ultimately, to predict
patient response to treatment. Technologies being offered include
the isolation, enumeration, and genotyping of circulating tumor
cells, determination of plasma cytokine levels, and genotypic
analysis of plasma-based tumor DNA. Currently, TRL is establishing
Chip-based proteomic analyses in tumor specimens.