Overview

Funding Portfolio

Research funding for clinical trials, cancer genomics, AI, and machine learning from ARPA-H, NCI, and DOD. Roles include SPORE biostatistics cores, adaptive trial platforms, and translational research.

Leadership roles supporting adaptive oncology research and clinical translation.

  • Co-PI and Statistical Member for ARPA-H ADAPT ($30M metastatic breast cancer platform trial, 2025-2031)
  • Co-Director of NCI SPORE Biostatistics/Quantitative Sciences cores in breast and pancreatic cancer
  • PI for DOD-funded clinical trial matching tool using large language models

Research Funding Timeline

31 grants $40M+ 2 SPOREs $30M ARPA-H
2011-2016 Early Career Funding
2020 Alliance Foundation PI Machine learning methods for biomarker-driven optimal treatment selection in metastatic colorectal cancer (2020-2023)
2020 NCI U01 Co-PI Integrating tumor and stroma to understand and predict treatment response (2020-2027)
2022 Pancreatic SPORE Core C Core Co-Director Integrated Quantitative Sciences Core (P50-CA257911)
2024 Breast SPORE Core B Core Co-Director Biostatistics & Bioinformatics Core (P50-CA058223)
2024 DOD PCARP PI Enhancing clinical trial discovery, matching, and enrollment in PDAC using fine-tuned LLMs ($311K, 2024-2026)
2025 ARPA-H TBCRC EVOLVE-BDT Co-PI Evolutionary clinical trial for novel biomarker-driven therapies ($30M) Bayesian adaptive platform for metastatic breast cancer, 12+ site network (2025-2031)
→ 2031

Active Funding

  • ARPA-H ADAPT Platform – Co-PI and statistical member for metastatic breast cancer adaptive platform (2025–2031).
  • NIH/NCI Breast SPORE – Core B co-lead supporting analytics for multi-site trials (2024–2029).
  • NIH/NCI Pancreatic SPORE – Core C co-lead for integrated quantitative science (2022–2027).
  • DOD PCARP TrialMatch LLM – PI for clinical trial navigation tool development (2024–2026).

Major Awards

TBCRC Evolutionary Clinical Trial For Novel Biomarker-Driven Therapies (EVOLVE-BDT)

Active
Total $28,120,143
Period 05/2025–05/2028
Role Co-PI / Statistical Member (1.8 CM)

Bayesian adaptive platform trial integrating serial tissue, ctDNA, imaging, and machine-learning allocation strategies for metastatic breast cancer. Serving as Co-PI and statistical member for trial design, adaptive randomization, and biomarker integration. Design accommodates late-arriving biomarker data and allows mid-trial enrichment based on early response signals.

Enhancing clinical trial discovery, matching, and enrollment in PDAC using fine-tuned large language models

Active
Total $311,000
Period 11/2024–10/2026
Role Principal Investigator (1.08 CM)

Fine-tuning a pretrained LLM on curated pancreatic cancer trial data matched to retrospective UNC cases to improve trial matching recommendations for prospectively recruited patients.

Integrating tumor and stroma to understand and predict treatment response

Active

Co-PI with Jen Jen Yeh. We propose to establish predictive models that will link phenotypic responses in tissues to underlying changes in molecular states. Models will be built on data from our experimental platform characterizing transcriptomic, proteomic, and phosphoproteomic states in response to targeted treatments across tissue complexity.

See additional PI / Core leadership awards

SPORE in Breast Cancer (Core B: Biostatistics and Bioinformatics)

Active

Core Co-Leader with Katie Hoadley (P50-CA058223, 2024–2029). The main goal of the Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Core (Core B) is to provide a complete and well-integrated Core for the analysis of complex multi-analyte data sets coming from our translational research of breast tumor specimens.

SPORE in Pancreatic Cancer (Core C: Integrated Quantitative Sciences Core)

Active

Core Co-Leader with Michael Kosorok (P50-CA257911, 2022–2027). The Integrated Quantitative Sciences Core participates in the design of all clinical trials, animal studies, and translational research proposed in the SPORE to ensure that all relevant studies are well powered, utilize appropriate statistical methods, and are properly designed to address relevant hypotheses.

UNC Lineberger P30 LCCC Biostatistics Shared Resource

Active

Associate Director (P30-CA016086) overseeing design and analytics support for 40+ Lineberger collaborations annually.

Leadership Roles

Dual NCI SPORE Core Director

Breast SPORE Core B: Biostatistics & bioinformatics support for multi-site breast cancer translational research

  • 4 SPORE projects + TBCRC trial correlatives
  • ctDNA resistance monitoring pipelines
  • Multi-omic integration strategies

Pancreatic SPORE Core C: Integrated quantitative sciences

  • 5 SPORE projects (organoids, immunotherapy, stroma)
  • Single-cell analysis frameworks
  • Biomarker validation pipelines

Lineberger Shared Resource

Associate Director role includes:

  • Trial design consultation for 40+ investigators annually
  • Grant development support (statistical sections, power)
  • Regulatory analytics for multi-site trials
  • Embedded support model with disease-site teams

ARPA-H ADAPT Platform

Co-PI & Statistical Member responsibilities:

  • Bayesian platform design with borrowing across cohorts
  • ML allocation strategy integrating serial biomarkers
  • Coordination across participating clinical sites
See Co-Investigator & Biostatistician portfolio

Cancer Genomics & Precision Medicine

HCMA metabolomics R01, male breast endocrine therapy response, BCRF HER2 programs, and UNC SPORE translational pilots.

Pancreatic Cancer & Immuno-oncology

Four PDAC SPORE projects covering immunosuppression, organoid vulnerabilities, neoantigen therapies, and microenvironment remodeling.

Other Programs

Lineberger shared-resource consults, adaptive trial working groups, and multi-institutional analytics collaborations.

Interested in collaboration? Lineberger members can request consultations. Email LCCC_BIOS →