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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.85pt"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#212121">Dear Drosophila cancer researcher-</span><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#212121"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#212121"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#212121"> I’d like to call your attention to <a href="https://events.cancer.gov/dcb/beyond-mammals" title="https://events.cancer.gov/dcb/beyond-mammals"><span style="color:#96607D">a virtual
seminar series that the US National Cancer Institute (NCI) is holding on non-mammalian models of cancer</span></a>. After years of advocacy to consider experimental systems including flies, fish and worms, NCI has invited several groups to present work and
make the case for the value of these organisms in cancer biology. On Thursday Jan 30<sup>th</sup> from 1-2:15 PM (US EST), Norbert Perrimon, Wu-Min Deng and I will speak about our labs’ research and the strengths and limitations of the fly as a model for
cancer. </span><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#212121"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#212121"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#212121"> I encourage you and your lab members to <a href="https://events.cancer.gov/dcb/beyond-mammals/registration" title="https://events.cancer.gov/dcb/beyond-mammals/registration"><span style="color:#96607D">register</span></a> for
the webinar. Enthusiasm reflected by registrants and attendees may make a positive impression on NCI as they consider offering funding opportunities targeted to non-mammalian models. So a high turnout for our fly session in particular would provide important
support for the field in which we all work.</span><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#212121"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#212121"> </span><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#212121"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#212121"> For overseas colleagues, fly cancer work in the US has been stymied by funding challenges that go beyond the familiar underappreciation of Drosophila research. Briefly, the structure
of NIH institutes includes the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) which supports ‘basic’ research, as well as other institutes such as NCI that support disease-targeted research. NCI has historically not considered flies (or really any
non-mammalian model) as relevant to cancer, so only a few fly grants have been funded over the last twenty years despite an enormous budget. However, NIGMS will not support cancer research (considering that the mission of NCI), so grants that mention cancer
are often rerouted to NCI for review. So it has been nearly impossible to fund fly cancer research through the NIH.</span><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#212121"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#212121"> </span><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#212121"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#212121"> For US colleagues, I’d love to hear about any experiences that you have had in trying to get your own fly cancer work funded through the NIH. If possible, I will share these
experiences with NCI program staff in hopes of shifting the culture both in the administration and in study sections.</span><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#212121"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#212121"> </span><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#212121"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#212121">Thanks and I look forward to seeing you at either the San Diego or Alicante meetings this year.</span><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#212121"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#212121">David Bilder</span><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#212121"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p style="color:rgb(112,113,115);font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande'; font-style: italic; font-size: 10pt;">
The Francis Crick Institute Limited is a registered charity in England and Wales no. 1140062 and a company registered in England and Wales no. 06885462, with its registered office at 1 Midland Road London NW1 1AT</p>
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