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- DCEG Holds Annual Retreat
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DCEG Holds Annual Retreat
Division retreat participants
The DCEG Senior Advisory Group (SAG) held its annual retreat in July at Rockwood Manor in Potomac, Maryland. For the first time, young investigators joined the senior faculty retreat to discuss future research directions that will prove critical to the continued success of the Division and the next generation of DCEG investigators.
Joseph F. Fraumeni, Jr., M.D., Director of DCEG, provided a Director’s challenge by distinguishing between short-term and long-term planning and emphasizing the capacity of the intramural research program to take a long-range view and make gambles on high-risk, high-impact projects that are difficult to carry out in the extramural community. He emphasized the importance of framing scientific opportunities in the form of major questions to be answered and the development of strategies, technologies, and methodologies that will enable the Division to expedite the discovery and translation process.
Robert N. Hoover, M.D., Sc.D., Director of the Epidemiology and Biostatistics Program (EBP), described the value of long-term cohort studies and proposed a forward-thinking approach when considering future investigations: “Rather than simply responding to isolated investigator-initiated concepts as they come forth or continuing to roll over our current investments, we must seek advice and input in developing priorities, and have a thoughtful examination of our entire portfolio of current and proposed research initiatives.”
Patricia Hartge, Sc.D., Deputy Director of EBP and retreat program chair, then led a series of panel discussions that looked at design considerations, demographic patterns of cancer, and a variety of lifestyle, environmental, and genetic determinants that require further study. In breakout sessions, the participants identified themes and ways to prioritize tomorrow’s research opportunities and stressed the importance of a cost-efficient leveraging of existing NCI and NIH resources. The day concluded with a wide-ranging question-and-answer session led by Dr. Fraumeni, Dr. Hoover, and Margaret A. Tucker, M.D., Director of the Human Genetics Program and Chief of the Genetic Epidemiology Branch.
The retreat identified a number of areas of interest that will continue to be pursued, especially through ad hoc planning groups in a wide variety of areas. These include environmental and nutritional exposure assessment, genome-wide association studies, hormonal assay development, biorepository enhancements, development of a high-throughput molecular pathology core laboratory, the role of inflammation and immunity in causal mechanisms, and tumors that are rising in incidence (e.g., thyroid cancer). Some discussions centered around value-added enhancements to existing DCEG cohorts and potential options for planning the development of a future cohort that might be needed, for example, in collaboration with health maintenance organizations, the NCI Cancer Research Network, or a partly closed health service group, such as the U.S. military or the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The 2008 SAG Retreat marks the beginning of a multistep strategic planning process that will continue to unfold over the coming year. Both tenure-track and recently tenured investigators will actively participate along with senior members of the Division to explore and anticipate the most promising avenues for DCEG research in the 21st century.
—Catherine B. McClave, M.S.
