DCTD's Translational Research Program Announces Fiscal Year 2026 SPORE Grantees
The Translational Research Program (TRP) recently announced its successfully competed FY2026 Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) grantees.
The SPORE program uses the P50 and U54 grant funding mechanisms to promote collaborative, interdisciplinary, translational cancer multi-project research. SPOREs are primarily focused on organ site disease, but also on themes that cut across organ sites.
There are now 53 funded SPOREs, including traditional P50 SPORE grants as well as the U54 RFA SPORE awards in Cancer Health Disparities, located at academic centers in 32 states.
FY 2026 SPORE Grantees
| Principal Investigator | Institution | Cancer Type |
|---|---|---|
| *Omar Abdel-Wahab; Eytan Stein | Sloan Kettering Institute for Cancer Research | Leukemia |
| *Peter Bergsagel | Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center Arizona | Multiple Myeloma |
| Elisabeth Heath; Emmanuel Antonarakis | Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center Rochester and University of Minnesota | Prostate |
| *Scott Kaufmann; Jamie Nadine Bakkum-Gamez | Mayo Clinic Rochester | Ovarian |
| Andrew Lane; Richard Stone | Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston Children’s Hospital, and The General Hospital Corporation | Leukemia |
| *David McDermott; William Kaelin | Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and Harvard Medical School | Kidney |
| *Simon Powell; Sarat Chandarlapaty | Sloan Kettering Institute for Cancer Research | Breast |
| Suresh Ramalingam; Haian Fu | Emory University | Lung |
| Jonathan Rosenberg; David Solit | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center | Bladder |
| *D. Wade Clapp; Kevin Shannon | Indiana University and University of California, San Francisco | Developmental and Hyperactive Ras Tumor (DHART) |
| *^Barbara Burtness; Robert Ferris | Yale University and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Head and Neck |
*Grant Renewal
^Co-funded with NIDCR
The goals of the SPORE Program remain the same:
Goals
- Translating novel scientific discoveries from the laboratory and/or population studies to the clinic for testing in humans with cancer or at risk for cancer
- Determining the biological basis for clinical observations
- Using specimens from clinical studies to determine correlations between biomarkers and outcomes in patients
- Promoting collaborations between SPOREs, Cancer Centers, other NCI/NIH funded mechanisms and programs, and outside organizations
- Promoting pilot projects and career enhancement of researchers new to translational research
- Supporting research in high incidence and rare cancers
- Encouraging communication with advocates and advocate organizations to obtain advice from the patient perspective
Contact TRP staff for more information on the SPORE program.