![MSK Thoracic Oncology Service Chief Charles Rudin leads the NCI Small Cell Lung Cancer Consortium.](https://www.mskcc.org/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/node/140404/3x2/rudin-u24-1200-800.jpg)
MSK Thoracic Oncology Service Chief Charles Rudin leads the NCI Small Cell Lung Cancer Consortium.
The overarching goal of the NCI Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC) Coordinating Center has been to promote and facilitating information sharing, interaction, and collaborative research among NCI-supported investigators studying SCLC to substantially accelerate progress against this deadly disease. Over our initial five years of support, this Coordinating Center has significantly increased research progress within the SCLC research community through efforts including, but not limited to, the creation and ongoing expansion of comprehensive preclinical and clinical -omics databases, centralized annotation and cataloging of available SCLC models, distribution and sharing of such models, centralized data analytics, a centralized Consortium website, as well as planning and oversight of annual meetings. The Coordinating Center created and facilitated interactive virtual meetings with unprecedented information and resource sharing, resulting in tremendous progress in overcoming knowledge gaps, all of which are documented in a large number of peer-reviewed publications.
The next five years of support will continue the exceptional research momentum the SCLC Consortium has generated, and build on this initial success through support of new initiatives. These include centralized support for databasing and comparative analysis of genetically-engineered mouse models (GEMMs), and multi-parameter characterization of patient-derived xenograft models developed across the Consortium. These additional resources will be of direct utility to the SCLC research community. Given the remarkable growth in scope and diversity of SCLC research, we have developed a new multi-PI structure including Charles Rudin (MSK), John Minna (UTSW), with addition of two exciting young SCLC investigators who have contributed important new insights into SCLC molecular and cellular biology - Trudy Oliver (Duke University), and Lauren Byers (MDACC). The complementary strengths of this leadership team cover all of the important areas of SCLC basic, translational, and clinical trials research. The products of the Consortium will ultimately benefit human health through fostering development of novel strategies for disease prevention, early intervention, immune surveillance, metastasis suppression, and therapeutics.