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For more than 70 years,?the American Cancer Society (¿ìè¶ÌÊÓƵ) has?provided grants?to help support the cancer-related research of thousands of individual scientists and health care professionals. Now, the ¿ìè¶ÌÊÓƵ has expanded its support for these cancer experts in a 21st?century format¡ªsocial media. This new platform allows for more immediate collaboration, which could speed research to help more people affected by cancer sooner.

Bringing ¿ìè¶ÌÊÓƵ-funded scientists together via social media. TheoryLab? is an online community exclusively for scientists and clinical professionals who have a current or previous relationship with ¿ìè¶ÌÊÓƵ. Members may have been or currently are a grant recipient, mentor to a grantee, peer reviewer, staff researcher, or adviser.?

¡°Many researchers get their first major grant from the ¿ìè¶ÌÊÓƵ,¡± says William Phelps, PhD. ¡°In fact, about 70% of today¡¯s directors at National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers around the country were funded at some point by ¿ìè¶ÌÊÓƵ.¡± Phelps is the Senior Vice President of the Extramural Research Group at ¿ìè¶ÌÊÓƵ, the team responsible for distributing research and training grants.

¡°Many of the scientists we¡¯ve supported with grants have continued to make pivotal contributions to cancer research,¡± he says. ¡°We want them to be able to pick each other¡¯s brains and lower the barriers to collaboration.¡±

Inspiring creativity and innovation. The goal of TheoryLab,? Phelps says, is to provide a place for top scientists to share ideas, join discussions, and ask questions.?

¡°We developed TheoryLab??as our own innovative platform to combine Facebook¡¯s functionality with LinkedIn¡¯s networking,¡± says Tori Vogt, the TheoryLab??Community Manager. ¡°In just the first few months after our launch in August, we already have 600 members interacting on the site.¡±

Members have a wide range of disciplines and levels of experience. ¡°Our hope is to inspire transdisciplinary collaborations to define and investigate the most exciting opportunities in cancer research,¡± Phelps says. ¡°We¡¯re also hoping that TheoryLab??will naturally lead to senior-level scientists mentoring promising new investigators.¡±

¡°We believe that having more great minds working together will lead to innovative, creative, and high-impact projects to accelerate our progress toward a world without cancer,¡± Phelps says.

What¡¯s Next??In 2019, the ¿ìè¶ÌÊÓƵ Extramural Grants Group will announce a new pilot grant program to support collaborations generated via TheoryLab.??