Mission
The mission of the Comparative and Translational Oncology Signature Program is to advance the care and treatment of animals and people with cancer through interdisciplinary collaborative research efforts within the CVM, the Ohio State biomedical community, and nationwide. This is accomplished by the development of enhanced diagnostic capabilities, implementation of clinical trials that involve novel therapeutics, and integration of translational genomic and medicine efforts. The program impacts key areas of research, clinical service and teaching within the CVM and across the University and serves as a centralized effort to drive improved outcomes in both veterinary and human patients. The faculty lead for the Comparative and Translational Oncology Signature program is Dr. Alexander Davies, assistant professor in the Department of Veterinary Biosciences.
Partnerships and Collaborations
Membership and participation in the program is open to anyone with an interest in comparative and translational oncology and participants include individuals from the Colleges of Medicine, Pharmacy, Engineering (among others), and Nationwide Children’s Hospital, as well as from the CVM. Collaborative research is a major component of the Signature Program that drives the identification and validation of new targets for therapy, ultimately providing enhanced opportunities for translational clinical trials. Two shared resources provide support for the program; the Blue Buffalo Clinical Trials Office/Biospecimen Repository, also known as the Veterinary Clinical Research Support Shared Resource (VCRSSR, supported by the OSU Comprehensive Cancer Center and Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences) and the Comparative Pathology and Mouse Phenotyping Shared Resource (CPMPSR).
Patient Care and Clinical Trials
The clinical component of the Oncology Signature Program is supported by the Integrated Oncology Service that incorporates medical, radiation and surgical oncology specialists to provide enhanced patient care by simultaneously leveraging expertise across multiple aspects of oncologic therapy. Additionally, care of veterinary patients with cancer is enhanced through the conduct of comparative and translational clinical trials, supported by the VCRSSR. These studies generate critical data that support the development of new diagnostics and therapeutics for that impact outcomes in both veterinary and human oncology.
Training and Education
The Oncology Signature Program serves as an incubator for training of graduate students and professional (DVM) students through a formal journal club, graduate class dedicated to comparative and translational oncology, and support of various seminar series. Additionally, professional students receive advanced training in the evaluation and treatment of veterinary cancer patients through rotations on the Integrated Oncology Service.
