New Cancer Research Consortium Melds Scientific Disciplines

Cedars-Sinai Cancer is part of an unconventional consortium dedicated to fighting cancer through the integration of diverse scientific disciplines. The effort, known as the Convergent Science Cancer Consortium, is funded through a $3.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense.

Much of the consortium is modeled on the recently established Convergent Science Virtual Cancer Center led by Dan Theodorescu, MD, PhD, director of Cedars-Sinai Cancer, with Peter Kuhn, PhD, of the University of Southern California as deputy director. Kuhn, Dean’s Professor of Biological Sciences at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, said it marks a pivotal moment in cancer research that “means new avenues of hope for patients and their families.”

The new consortium, led by Kuhn, also includes Stanford University and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles as inaugural members. It unites experts from fields such as biology, engineering, mathematics and computer science to discover more effective treatment strategies through a more holistic understanding of cancer, particularly for hard-to-treat forms such as bladder cancer, sarcomas and metastatic cancers.

“This type of collaboration is essential to realizing the promise of precision medicine, which is the future of cancer care,” said Theodorescu, co-principal investigator of the consortium and the PHASE ONE Foundation Distinguished Chair at Cedars-Sinai. “It is the path to lifesaving new treatments for patients.”

Theodorescu has combined molecular and cell biology with computational methods in his research for the past 20 years. He and Kuhn have long held a belief that convergent science holds exceptional power to find cancer solutions.

Co-principal investigator Christina Curtis, PhD, of Stanford University, brings extensive biomedical data science expertise. Using the latest computational methods, she will lead efforts to parse the copious and varied information the consortium researchers will produce.

Co-investigator Fariba Navid, MD, of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has expertise in pediatric bone and soft tissue sarcomas. She will continue an ongoing collaboration with Kuhn to assess circulating tumor cells in these cancers.

A leading cause of death worldwide, cancer presents complex challenges that often exceed the scope of traditional research methods. By fostering collaboration across various scientific domains, the consortium intends to overcome these limitations. And because it will include scientists from across disciplines and institutions, their proposed solutions are likely to be more versatile and applicable to a diverse range of populations and healthcare systems.

“The CSCC is a paradigm shift in cancer research,” said Kuhn, a trained physicist and director of the Convergent Science Institute in Cancer at the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience. “By integrating diverse scientific insights, we can develop more effective, tailored treatments for patients, especially those fighting intractable forms of cancer.”

The consortium places a special emphasis on understanding and addressing cancer in military personnel, a group often exposed to unique environmental risks, such as asbestos in conflict zones.

This focus, relatively rare in cancer research, offers significant benefits not only to military personnel but also to civilians exposed to similar hazards. The insights gained could lead to better prevention and treatment strategies for cancers caused by specific environmental factors.

The consortium’s approach aims to advance personalized cancer treatments that consider individual patient profiles. This could result in more effective treatments with reduced side effects. The researchers will also study technologies for real-time monitoring, such as wearable devices, that hold promise for early detection and intervention, potentially improving patient survival rates.

Read more on the Cedars-Sinai Blog: Frontiers in Single-Cell Biology