UCSF home page UCSF home page About UCSF Search UCSF UCSF Medical Center
UCSF navigation bar
  UCSF arrow indicating deeper hierarchy A-Z Index of Webs arrow indicating deeper hierarchy U arrow indicating deeper hierarchyDepartment of Urology arrow indicating deeper hierarchy Clinical and Research Programs arrow indicating deeper hierarchy Urologic Oncology
Department of Urology   search
Department of Urology

Prostate Cancer Center

At the UCSF Prostate Cancer Center, the search for answers, better treatments and longer, fuller lives has resulted in a unique interdisciplinary collaboration among investigators and clinicians. Center members share one vision: to prevent and cure prostate cancer and improve the quality of life for men undergoing treatment for it. Supporting this vision, the Center has established straightforward and focused goals:

To discover the fundamental biological processes underlying prostate cancer

To translate those discoveries into new ideas for prevention, diagnosis and treatment

To incorporate those ideas into medical practice through rigorous clinical trials

To provide patients with the best in multidisciplinary care

To disseminate new information about prostate cancer as a resource for patients, physicians and basic scientists.


Prostate Cancer Research Program

The UCSF Prostate Cancer Research Program is dedicated to making significant advances in the prevention and successful treatment of this all too common, potentially fatal disease. We believe that we have created an ideal research environment in which molecular and cell biologists, geneticists and chemists work in synergy with urologists, oncologists, and radiation therapists. The faculty is acknowledged as among the very best in their respective fields. Led by a team of doctors, basic scientists and business executives, program members are attacking fundamental problems presented by this insidious disease.

The three major problems are being addressed are: 1) identification of genetic and lifestyle factors that predispose men to clinically significant prostate cancer, 2) discovering alterations in genes and proteins that confer an unsuccessful outcome in spite of definitive therapy for prostate 3) developing novel therapies for men with recurrent widespread disease, and 4) Preventing progression of early state untreated disease (active surveillance).


Prostate Cancer Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE)

The Specialized Program of Research Excellence is a designation from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). SPORE grants include funding for basic science and clinical research in cancer. The goal of the program is to bring together outstanding scientists and clinicians from different disciplines to solve significant problems in cancer research. The UCSF prostate cancer SPORE grant was awarded to UCSF in recognition of the breadth and depth of the UCSF Hellen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center's basic science and clinical research programs and its ability to integrate these programs for clinical advance.

The proposed SPORE program includes five research projects and five resource cores that support the research effort. A developmental program enhances and expands the more developed aspects of the program. The program is detailed below. More information can be found on the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center's prostate cancer SPORE webpage and the NIH's SPORE webpage.

Proposed SPORE Program

Project 1
Genome-Wide Association of Prostate Cancer in Minorities
Project Leader: John Witte, PhD
Co-leaders: Neil Riesch, PhD and Stephen Van Den Eeden, PhD

Project 2
Statins for Men with Prostate Cancer on Active Surveillance
Project Leader: June Chan, ScD
Co-leaders: Peter Carroll, MD, MPH and Millie Hughes-Fulford, PhD

Project 3
Translational Genomics for Prostate Cancer Risk Assessment
Project Leader: Colin Collins, PhD
Co-leaders: Pamela Paris, PhD and Peter Carroll, MD, MPH

Project 4
Magnetic Resonance Biomarkers for Improved Prostate Cancer Risk Stratification
Project Leader: John Kurhanewicz, PhD
Co-leaders: Fergus Coakley, MD

Project 5
Immune-based Therapy for Prostate Cancer
Project Leader: Eric Small, MD
Co-leaders: James Marks, MD, PhD and Lawrence Fong, MD

Core A
Administrative Core
SPORE Director: Peter Carroll, MD, MPH
Co-directors: John Witte, PhD and Eric Small, MD

Core B
Tissue Core
Core Director: Jeffry Simko, MD, PhD
Co-director: Katsuto Shinohara, MD

Core C
Research Data Management Core
Core Director: June Chan, ScD
Co-Director: Jeffry Simko, MD, PhD

Core D
Biostatistics Core
Core Director: Joan Hilton, ScD, MPH
Co-Director: John Witte, PhD

Core E
Advocacy Core
Core Director: Peter Carroll, MD, MPH
Co-Director: Lee Benton, JD

Prostate Cancer Development Program
Program Director: Marc Shuman, MD
Career Development Program Co-director: Mack Roach III, MD
Developmental Research Program Co-director: Colin Collins, PhD


Prostate Cancer Development Program

The Prostate Cancer Development Program is organized to attract scientists and clinical investigators to the field of prostate cancer and to assist in the development of careers in the field of prostate cancer. The Prostate Cancer Development Program encourages collaborations between investigators with diverse skills, resulting in innovative research collaborations. The Development Program’s efforts are designed to enhance and expand the current research program. Funding is available for postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty through the Career Development Program. Established investigators wishing to pursue prostate cancer research may apply for funding through the Developmental Research Program. The Career Development and Developmental Research programs are evaluated in conjunction, by the steering committee, who make funding decisions based on the availability of funds and the quality of the applicants. The strongest candidates are given priority funding, while maintaining a balance across initiatives.

Career Development Program

The purpose of the Career Development Program is to assist in scientific and academic development of medical, urological, and radiation oncologists, as well as recent graduates of PhD programs. Up to two years of salary support and career mentoring helps applicants to establish a career in the field of prostate cancer. Funding is available to postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty. Successful fellows will use the funding to launch a career in academia, either as a research or clinical scientist, at the faculty level. Successful junior faculty will use this opportunity to develop a research program well supported by extramural funding. The highest priority for funding will be given to applicants who clearly demonstrate academic potential and commitment.

Additional information about the prostate cancer fellowship program, including application materials and a listing of current and previous awardees, can be found on our Career Development Program page.

Developmental Research Program

The purpose of the Developmental Research Program is to provide seed funding to encourage both new and established investigators to conduct pilot projects that will launch new translational research initiatives in prostate cancer. It is designed to create a flexible means of exploring basic and clinical research for potential translational projects. The program provides funding for research proposals submitted by basic scientists and clinical investigators seriously interested in developing new approaches to prevention and treatment of prostate cancer. Successful investigators will use this opportunity to conduct the initial research necessary for later obtaining extramural funding.

The highest priority for funding is given to translational research projects demonstrating collaboration between clinicians and research scientists. Translational research is defined as research involving the flow of information from the clinic or clinical materials to the bench, or vice-versa.

2008/09 Applications will be due on Wednesday, April 16, 2008. Program guidelines and application forms can be downloaded using the links below:

Instructions in Word (program description and directions for submitting an application)

Application Part 1 in Excel (required forms. Please note: the Excel document contains two worksheets. Please click on the tabs at the bottom of the document to toggle between the two worksheets.)

Application Part 2 in Word (required abstract and optional narrative forms)

Current Developmental Research Project
Role of miR-205 in Prostate Cancer
Robert Place, PhD

Prostate Cancer Therapy by saRNA guided p21WAF1/CIP1 activation
Long-Cheng Li, MD

Previously Funded Developmental Research Projects
Role of Aurora2 and Fas ligand in Prostate Cancer Risk
Alan Balmain, PhD

Disruption of Mucin-Type Glycosylation: A Novel Strategy for Anti-Metastasis Therapy
Carolyn Bertozzi, PhD

Interference with Telomeres to Treat Prostate Cancer
Elizabeth Blackburn, PhD

Novel Serine Proteases of the Prostate
George Caughey, MD

Multi-modality Nanoparticle Targeting Prostate Cancer for Imaging and Photodynamic Therapy
Fanqing F. Chen, PhD

Positional Comparative Sequencing of a 800kb Chromosome 16q24.3 LOH in Prostate Tumors
Colin Collins, PhD

Determining Substrate Specificity and Natural Substrates for Prostate Associated Proteases
Charles Craik, PhD

Inhibition of Androgen Receptor Activation
Robert J. Fletterick, PhD; Kip Guy, PhD

The Role of PTEN Mutations in the Pathogenesis of Prostate Cancer and Resistance to Therapy
Alexander Gottschalk, MD, PhD

The Development of In Vivo Models of Human Prostate Cancer
Simon Hayward, PhD

Targeting Telomerase RNA for Prostate Cancer Inhibition
Thomas James, PhD

Restoration of Erectile Function with Growth Factor Therapy
Tom F. Lue, MD

Pilot Study to Evaluate Functional Screen of Protease Expression in Human Prostate Cancer Samples
James H. McKerrow, MD, PhD

Recruitment of Low-Income African American and Latino Mend for Research in Prostate Cancer Communication via the Women in their Lives
Rena Pasick, DrPH

Biological Effectiveness Improvement of High Dose Rate (HDR) Prostate Brachytherapy
Jean Pouliot, PhD

Development of Non-Steroidal Androgen Receptor Ligands
Thomas Scanlan, PhD

Isoform Selective Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase Inhibitors in Prostate Cancer
David Stokoe, PhD

Analysis of Androgen Receptor Interactions with UBC9
Paul Webb, PhD

Metalloproteases as a Therapeutic Target in Prostate Cancer; and Role of Proteases in a Transgenic Animal Model of Prostate Tumor Initiation, Progression and Metastasis
Zena Werb, PhD

Prostate Cancer Research Advocates

Prostate cancer survivors are an integral part of the Prostate Cancer Center at UCSF. They are actively involved in many aspects of the program, and keep the Center’s activities sighted on the target of better patient care. The advocacy group raised $12 million to fund prostate cancer research and is helping to build one of the finest prostate cancer research and treatment centers in the world. Group members lend their time and resources to the collaborative team of scientists and clinicians, with the goal of helping research that will result in new, effective treatments for prostate cancer.

Advocates:

provide assistance to SPORE faculty in the development and implementation of SPORE clinical trials. Advocates provide an important patient perspective.

participate in advisory committees to assess translational benefits of new clinical research and treatment initiatives. Such feedback helps scientists ensure that they are working on potentially clinically meaningful issues that can be solved in a timely fashion.

maintain and enhance the level of resources necessary to support the research program and participate in decision making on how resources are allocated to enhance translational research efforts.

interact with other SPORE programs nationally.

More detailed information about the advocate group, including profiles of two advocates is on line at http://cancer.ucsf.edu/prostate_spore/advocacy_core.php

 

 

Contents of This Page

Prostate Cancer Research Program
Prostate Cancer Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE)
SPORE Program
Developmental Program
Career Development Program

Developmental Research Program

Prostate Cancer Research Advocates

 

Faculty

Robert Blelloch, MD, PhD
Peter Carroll, MD, MPH
June Chan, ScD
Fergus Coakley, MD
Colin Collins, PhD
Rajvir Dahiya, PhD
Laura Dunn, MD
Robert Fletterick, PhD
Lawrence Fong, MD
Kirsten Greene, MD
Christopher Haqq, MD, PhD
Joan Hilton, ScD, MPH
Millie Hughes-Fulford, PhD
Sara Knight, PhD
Badrinath Konety, MD, MBA
John Kurhanewicz, PhD
Long-Cheng Li, MD
James Marks, MD, PhD
Maxwell Meng, MD
Pamela Paris, PhD
Mack Roach, MD
Davide Ruggero, PhD
Chuck Ryan, MD
Marc Shuman, MD
Katsuto Shinohara, MD
Jeffry Simko, MD, PhD
Eric Small, MD
Joycelyn Speight, MD, PhD
John Witte, PhD

Key Staff

Malinda Walker
Program Administrator mwalker@urology.ucsf.edu
415/885-7723

Patients seeking information should call the clinic at 415/353-7171

Appointments & Location

Academic Administration
The interdisciplinary activities of the Prostate Cancer Center are located across all UCSF facilities.

Patients seeking an appointment should contact the Urologic Oncology Clinic located at the Mount Zion Medical Center. Additional information about the clinical program can be found on the Program in Urologic Oncology page.

Contact Number

For more information about the Prostate Cancer Center please call our accademic offices at 415/885-7723

Patients seeking information should call the clinic at 415/353-7171