Radiation Oncology-Biology Integration Network (ROBIN) U54
A collaborative interdisciplinary effort that will apply new biological knowledge to optimize radiation therapy in combination with systemic drugs, immunotherapy, and other agents (RFA-CA-21-040)
ROBIN Members
| PI(s)/Institution | Center Title | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Phuoc Tran; Amit Sawant/University of Maryland Nicole Simone/Thomas Jefferson University |
Radiation Oncology-Biology Integration Network on Oligometastasis (ROBIN OligoMET) Center | The team will study mechanisms of how RT can affect the metastatic process in de novo oligometastatic prostate cancer to find new approaches for using RT to combat metastases. |
| Silvia Formenti/Weill Medical College of Cornell University Joseph Deasy/Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Ralph Weichselbaum/ University of Chicago |
Dynamics of Immune Response in Irradiated Rectal Cancer Center (ROBIN ImmunoRad Center) | In the setting of pre-operative short course RT for rectal cancer, the team will explore the capacity to optimize immune therapy with radiation. |
| Timothy Chan/Cleveland Clinic Foundation David Yu/Emory University |
Genomic and Microenvironmental Determinants, Temporal Dynamics, and Treatment Efficacy of Radiation-Based Combination Therapies Center (ROBIN Gen-Rad Center) | The team will use an innovative molecular characterization trial testing radiation plus antibody-drug-conjugates in bladder cancer and radiation plus immune checkpoint inhibitors in head and neck cancer to characterize the mechanistic drivers underlying these next generation RT-based combinations. |
ROBIN Goals
Centers will provide highly focused research capabilities that will:
- Test translational hypotheses that advance the understanding of mechanistic interactions and biologic consequences of RT through the course of radiation.
- Collect longitudinally and spatially annotated research biospecimens prior to, during, and after RT to elucidate:
- toxicity and resistance signals that are more likely to develop very early during treatment and could be preventable
- new anti-cancer drug targets
- if the current therapeutic strategy remains optimal for the patient
The long-term goal of ROBIN is to stimulate the development of radiation and combined modality trial concepts to be further developed in focused grants (R01s), program project grants (P01s), part of translational large scale grants (SPORE grants), or through the NCI’s Experimental Therapeutics Clinical Trials Network or NCI’s National Clinical Trials Network.
Two additional ROBIN Centers are anticipated to be awarded in late 2023 (RFA-CA-22-046).
ROBIN Websites and Twitter Handles
ROBIN OligoMET Center Twitter @ROBINOligoMETC
ROBIN ImmunoRad Center Twitter @ImmunoRadROBIN
ROBIN Gen-Rad Center
DCTD News
For further information on ROBIN, contact Jeff Buchsbaum, MD, PhD, AM (Jeff.Buchsbaum@nih.gov), Michael Espey, PhD (SP@nih.gov), or Vik Vikram, MD (vikramb@mail.nih.gov).