Pilot Project Program

Rationale

As the field of oncofertility continues to advance, the Consortium seeks to support various high-risk, high-gain initiatives in order to facilitate the launch of early-stage ideas into future grant-funded projects. Applications for pilot projects are evaluated each year, with only a few awarded with financial support and access to Consortium resources. There are currently 2 pilot projects backed by the Consortium, with additional projects planned each year.

Current Projects

Project 1

Site:  Northwestern University 
Principal Investigator: Jacqueline S. Jeruss, MD, PhD
The major goal of this project is to determine if ovulation induction through medical intervention causes breast epithelial cells to progress to neoplasia, either directly by inducing proliferation or indirectly by increasing stromal angiogenesis in a 3-dimensional culture system. In addition, investigators are determining if prior infertility treatment increases the risk of breast cancer in a cohort of women with BRCA 1/2 mutations or a family history of breast cancer.

Project 2

Site:  Northwestern University 
Principal Investigator: Robert Brannigan, MD
Understanding and overcoming the barriers to fertility preservation is essential to optimize the reproductive health of young cancer patients. The overall aim of this project is to develop and execute a national survey (Survey for Preservation of Adolescent Reproduction, SPARE) of pediatric oncologists to assess perspectives on fertility preservation in both pre-pubertal (age 1-12) and pubertal (age 13-18) cancer patients, including willingness to discuss fertility, knowledge of current fertility preservation methods, and awareness of the American Society of Clinical Oncology published fertility preservation recommendations (ASCOR) regarding sperm cryopreservation strategies and referral to a fertility specialist.  Through SPARE, we sought to obtain post-ASCOR FP data from pediatric oncology specialists nationwide.
 

Consortium Support and Impact

Pilot projects chosen by the Consortium are those that directly support its goals of improving our understanding of barriers to fertility preservation in young cancer patients, and that will augment efforts of other Consortium projects to expand the options for these patients and others facing serious fertility-threatening diseases or treatments. The pilot project investigators in turn gain access to Consortium resources and support in order to achieve their research goals.

*This research is funded by an NIH Interdisciplinary Research Consortium Grant (NIH Grant: U54RR024347)