lresearch update

u A b C o m P r e H e N S I V e C A N C e r C e N T e r 13

CANCER CENTER RECEIVES CORE GRANT RENEWAL

B Y B E E N A T H A N N I C K A L

THE RENEWAL also extends the Cancer

Center’s designation as one of 40 compre-

hensive cancer centers in the United States,

and the only NCI-designated compre-

hensive cancer center in Alabama and the

region known as the Deep South (South

Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Arkansas

and Louisiana). The Cancer Center was one

of the original eight NCI-designated cen-

ters created when President Richard Nixon

signed the National Cancer Act in 1971.

The NCI requires comprehensive cancer

centers to demonstrate depth and breadth

in laboratory, clinical and population-based

research, with programs that bridge all

three areas. A comprehensive cancer center

also must provide outreach, education and

information on cancer to the community.

To achieve comprehensive status, centers

must undergo a rigorous, peer-reviewed pro-

cess that culminates in a visit from an NCI

site team every five years. During this visit,

every aspect of the institution’s operation is

scrutinized, from its research activities to its

administration.

NCI funding supports the coordination

and infrastructure for all cancer research

that happens at UAB. This includes support

for shared research core functions that pro-

vide state-of-the-art technology and exper-

tise to the more than 330 scientists working

across campus in research labs, clinics and

the community.

“The Cancer Center Support Grant is

recognized as the most prestigious federal

grant that can be earned by an institution

with significant cancer research and patient

care programs,” says Ed Partridge, M.D.,

director of the Cancer Center. “We are

extremely pleased to have received an ‘excel-

lent’ score from the NCI as well as such

favorable feedback.”

The Cancer Center received particularly

high marks for its work in three areas:

health disparities research, translational

research (moving scientific findings from

the laboratory bench to the patient bedside)

and drug discovery and development, along

with its impact on Birmingham and the

surrounding region.

“These are all areas that truly set the

Cancer Center apart,” Dr. Partridge

says. “For example, our center is one of a

select few in the United States with four

Specialized Program of Research Excellent

(SPORE) grants from the NCI for brain,

breast and pancreatic cancers along with a

shared grant for cervical cancer with Johns

Hopkins. This is a perfect example of our

ability to conduct cutting-edge research that

saves lives.”

Since the last renewal of the CCSG

grant, the Cancer Center has enjoyed tre-

mendous growth. Dozens of new recruits

have joined the center, and there has been

a significant increase in both lab space and

clinical space. Largest among these is the

renovation of the Wallace Tumor Institute,

which will be completed in 2012.

“We at the Cancer Center are excited

and looking forward to the next five years,”

Dr. Partridge says. “Every bit of progress

we make is one step closer to fulfilling our

promise of eliminating cancer as a public

health problem.”

thE UAB COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTER HAS RECEIVED A FIVE-YEAR, $27.5-MILLION CANCER CENTER SUPPORT GRANT

(CCSG) FROM THE NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE (NCI) TO RENEW SUPPORT FOR ITS CANCER RESEARCH PROGRAMS AND ITS

“COMPREHENSIVE” DESIGNATION. THE CANCER CENTER WILL RECEIVE MORE THAN $5.4 MILLION PER YEAR THROUGH 2016 TO

SUPPORT SIX RESEARCH PROGRAMS AND 14 SHARED FACILITIES AND SERVICES.