The UCLA Prostate Cancer SPORE is a multidisciplinary and translational research program focused on the development of new and innovative approaches for improving the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of prostate cancer patients. Initially built around a small nucleus of basic and clinical scientists, the program has expanded around campus to bring diverse talents from disciplines as varied as Chemistry, Nanotechnology, Stem Cell Biology, Pathology and Radiology to focus on the prostate cancer problem. This campus-wide (including UCLA affiliated-institutions) enterprise has led to significant discoveries with potential major impact on men with prostate cancer. The overall goal of this competitive renewal application is to continue to apply the diversity of talent on the UCLA campus and its sister institutions to the critical and evolving translational challenges in the fied of prostate cancer. To achieve the long-term objectives and goals of our program, the Specific Aims of the UCLA SPORE in Prostate Cancer are: 1. Perform high-impact translational research focused on some of the major challenges in the field of prostate cancer by: 2. Provide organizational infrastructure and novel technologies designed specifically to support the translational research objectives of the SPORE: 3. Develop new prostate cancer researchers and research areas to advance translational research in prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the US. The goal of our Prostate Cancer SPORE is to apply basic laboratory research to the goal of preventing, managing and curing all forms and stages of this disease. This will be accomplished through 4 major projects focused on critical unmet needs in this disease, pilot and developmental research programs, and core infrastructure support of research.