Much like the glass skybridge that joins the hospital and research buildings at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI), the Cancer Systems Biology Resource and the Clinical Research Applications Facility connect cancer physicians with the experimental laboratories of basic scientists who study cancer. These resources create a two-way passage, advancing the translation of basic research discoveries to treatments for patients and communicating fresh insights from clinical expertise and patient observation to guide the research process.

Directed by Karen Heichman, PhD, the Cancer Systems Biology Resource provides access to collections of experimentally derived data and annotation from a myriad of international sources, mounting and integrating this information in a searchable, web-based format. Starting with genes or protein products of interest to HCI investigators, the resource provides methods for users to gather the available data to construct an integrated assessment, revealing biological networks and pathways that may include potential targets for new cancer drugs. As part of this effort, Heichman provides consultation and collaboration opportunities for HCI physicians and scientists. In addition, she coordinates numerous HCI shared resources. “Overall, my job is to facilitate information flow and foster synergy between researchers, with the goal of identifying new targets for pharmacological or diagnostic development,” says Heichman.

Clinicians involved in research frequently collect tissue samples, but may not have the staff or facilities for molecular studies of those specimens. The Clinical Research Applications Facility collaborates with doctors conducting clinical trials to identify or evaluate biomarkers that correlate with disease. The facility focuses on two main areas: assays of the overall expression pattern of genes in cells, before and after treatment with anticancer drugs; and tests of methylation, a DNA modification that acts as an indicator of a specific DNA region’s ability to express the genes within it. “We identify molecular traits of tumors that correlate with response, remission, relapse, or mortality to advance HCI clinical trials and translational research projects,” says Mark Wade, PhD, who directs the facility and manages its laboratory staff. By collaborating with these two resources to complete initial studies, HCI clinicians can establish themselves as researchers and generate the preliminary results necessary to obtain federal funding to continue their studies. Thus, these core services play an important role in the evolution of clinicians into physicianscientists, a dual perspective critical to understanding human disease.