Breast Cancer SPORE Grant

Originally awarded: September 2005 ($11.1 million over five years)
Renewed: September 2011 ($11.385 million over 5 years)
Principal Investigator: James N. Ingle, M.D.

Mayo Clinic Cancer Center is one of 11 cancer research centers to receive a National Cancer Institute (NCI) Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) grant for breast cancer research.

Mayo Clinic's Breast Cancer SPORE supports four main research projects and offers research and career development opportunities for junior investigators.

The Breast Cancer SPORE has established collaborations with multiple other Breast Cancer SPOREs and 15 of the leading breast cancer programs in the United States through the Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium (TBCRC). The TBCRC was established to aid and expedite the development of sophisticated breast cancer research and its application in clinical practice.

The Breast Cancer SPORE also collaborates with National Institutes of Health's Pharmacogenomics Research Network and Mayo Clinic researchers developing individualized breast cancer treatments based on genetics.

Mayo Clinic and Mayo Clinic Cancer Center provide substantial support directly and indirectly to the SPORE through the Women's Cancer Program (WCP), support facilities and administrative assistance. In addition, 16 Shared Resources are key components of Breast Cancer SPORE cores. The Women's Cancer Program is an interactive program within the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center. Mayo Clinic's Breast Cancer SPORE involves a number of collaborations within and outside of the Women's Cancer Program. James N. Ingle, M.D. is the Breast Cancer SPORE director. He and Sean C. Dowdy, M.D. serve as program co-leaders for the Women's Cancer Program.

The mission of Mayo Clinic Women's Cancer Program and the Mayo Clinic Breast Cancer SPORE is to perform research that can be quickly applied to clinical practice (translational research). Translational research efforts in breast cancer at Mayo Clinic began in 1994 when Dr. Ingle was awarded a National Institutes of Health Exploratory Developmental Research Grant (R21 grant) to develop a breast cancer research program. Dr. Lynn C. Hartmann served as co-principal investigator for this grant. Productive collaboration and mentoring of junior breast cancer investigators continue to play a key role in Mayo Clinic's Breast Cancer SPORE.

For more information on the Breast Cancer SPORE, please visit these links:

• Projects
• Core Resources
• Developmental Research Program
• Career Development Program