On Mar. 19, 2020, The UArizona Cancer Center announced it was awarded a five-year, $6.9 million prestigious Program Project Grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Clara Curiel-Lewandrowski, MD, director of the Cutaneous Oncology Program and co-director of the Skin Cancer Institute at the UArizona Cancer Center, is principal investigator for the grant

The Program Project Grant will assess, in animal models and human studies, the importance of a novel immune protein known as TLR4 that is modulated by solar ultraviolet radiation. The second focus of the grant includes characterization of a cascade of messages within skin cells recently discovered by the team that are found to promote development of skin cancer after exposure to sunlight. An impactful aspect of the award relates to the formulation and testing of topical drugs, i.e., lotions and creams, that effectively can inhibit the action of these proteins ultimately to prevent squamous cell carcinoma formation.