Nationwide Children’s gets $11.5M contract for cancer project

Nationwide Children’s Hospital has received an $11.5 million federal contract for a project that involves genetic testing of tumors from more than 10,000 patients with one of 20 different cancers.

Contracts awarded under the project could reach up to nearly $50 million over six years, according to a statement from Columbus-based Nationwide Children’s.

The project is known as the Cancer Genome Atlas, and its aim is to improve clinicians’ ability to diagnose, treat and prevent the disease.

Nationwide Children’s received an initial $7 million contract for the project last year. The hospital’s role in the project involves examining and analyzing tumor and normal tissue samples from contributing medical research centers.

“Maintaining a key leadership position within [the Cancer Genome Atlas] continues Nationwide Children’s rising role in the cancer research community,” said Dr. John Barnard, president of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s.

Since the beginning of the project, Nationwide Children’s has added 40 jobs in areas such as informatics, laboratory technology, and clinical trials development. The hospital expects to add another 15 jobs associated with the project.