Each SPORE has a Developmental Research Program, designed to foster new projects that might, in time, become full SPORE projects, as existing ones complete the translational process and go go the clinic.

Like all SPORES, ours holds an annual competition (see here for the Request For Applications from July), and applications are evaluated by our external advisory board. It took us a little longer this year, as we had to complete forming the board, but now the process is complete. We had 18 applications, which were of very high quality. The SPORE has sufficient funds to support 4 projects (at $50,000 per year, for one year at a time). This year we were able to fund two additional projects using some funds raised by the Brain Tumor Center from philanthropy.

We are pleased to announce the following applications were funded:

• William G. Bornmann, Ph.D. (MDACC) Imaging PI3K Activity in Glioma


• Candelaria Gomez-Manzano, M.D. (MDACC) Significance of the Tyrosine Kinase Receptor Tie-2 in the Brain Tumor Stem Cell Population


• Suyun Huang, M.D., Ph.D. (MDACC) Targeting FoxM1 for Inhibition of Angiogenesis and Tumor Growth of Glioblastoma


• Christopher Pelloski, M.D. (MDACC) The Investigation of Methylome Expression Signatures in Glioblastoma : Prognostic Biomarker Discovery and Clinical Applications


• Vinay K. Puduvalli, M.D. (MDACC) Targeting Gliomas Through Histone Deacetylase Inhbition


• Michael E. Scheurer, PhD, MPH (BCM) Neuropsychological Outcomes in Pediatric Brain Tumor Survivors: The Influence of Polymorphisms in Cytokine Genes

Congratulations to the investigators, and we look forward to their active participation in the SPORE community.