Project Summary / Abstract: OverallThe University of Arizona Cancer Center (UACC) in Tucson Arizona has been an NCI-designated CancerCenter since 1978 and a Comprehensive Cancer Center since 1990. It was founded as a matrix center withinthe University of Arizona (UA) and its members represent 43 Colleges and 11 Departments. In 2014 theUACC was elevated to a status equivalent to that of a College reporting directly to the Senior Vice President ofHealth Sciences. At this time Andrew S. Kraft MD was appointed Director of the UACC. With authority for allcancer-related activities at the UA he is spearheading the utilization of the significant Institutional support toenhance the Program. This includes the recently completed $100M 220000 square foot outpatient clinic inPhoenix which will greatly enhance translational research an expansion of basic research space withoccupancy of 20000 square feet within two years and an Institutional Commitment of $232M dollars over thenext five years. The functionality of the Center has been enhanced by optimization of the Administration andSenior Leadership infrastructure. The UACC Strategic Plan for 20152020 calls for the continuation of thehighly innovative and impactful team science based on four robust cornerstone Programs: Cancer BiologyCancer Imaging Therapeutic Development and Cancer Prevention and Control. Strategic recruitment andpilot funding is focused on team building including development of inter-programmatic collaborations andmovement of research into the clinic. The UACC will continue to invest in its eight integrated SharedResources that enhance the capabilities of UACC investigators in basic prevention translational and clinicalresearch and another in development. The Clinical Trials Office has been strengthened and investmentssupporting precision medicine initiatives are ongoing. The UACC is the only major academic Cancer Center ina 400 square mile area of driving distance and is committed to serving the residents in this region and its directcatchment area of southern Arizona. Thus it has a focus on skin cancer and arsenic exposure as well as theneeds of Hispanics Native Americans the elderly and the economically disadvantaged. It has established arobust infrastructure of international national and regional collaborations and outreach programs together withresearch spanning epidemiology genetics epigenetics cell biology and signaling mechanisms as well astargeted interventions and understudied survivorship issues. To capture the emerging synergies the positionsof Associate Director of Cancer Disparities and Associate Director of Precision Medicine and Bioinformaticshave been created and filled by nationally recognized experts. The UACC emphasis on inclusive training of thenext generation of cancer researchers has had demonstrable success in graduation of Native American andLatinos. The research generated by UACC members is characterized by its impact its relevance to thecatchment area and its innovation. The Strategic Plan builds on the work that has resulted in 1756 cancer-related publications in the reporting period and its current portfolio of $44M in peer-reviewed support.