Research Programs

Cancer Chemoprevention - Craig Elmets, M.D., and Clinton Grubbs, Ph.D., Directors

The overall goal of the Cancer Chemoprevention Program is to determine, through basic and clinical research, the role of chemoprevention agents in the prevention of cancer. It is one of the younger programs of the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center having been initiated in 1999 as a Developmental Program and in 2002 achieving program status.

Contact: (205) 934-2306

Cancer Control and Population Science Program - Mona Fouad, M.D.,, MPH, Director

The overall scientific goal of the Cancer Control and Population Science Program is the reduction of cancer incidence, morbidity and mortality through interventional research conducted in an orderly sequence from hypothesis and laboratory research (discovery) to defined populations (development) to evolution into systematic applications to larger populations (delivery).

Contact: (205) 934-4307

Experimental Therapeutics - Christopher Klug, Ph.D., and James Bonner, M.D., Directors

The Experimental Therapeutics Program was initiated in 1994 as a strategy to enhance the Cancer Center's technology transfer and translational research efforts. It is composed of four major research groups (Targeted Immunotherapy, Cancer Pharmacology, Gene Therapy and Hematological Malignancies) and 10 disease-oriented working groups composed of clinical scientists and other investigators with expertise in the major types of cancer.

Contact: (205) 934-2760

Neuro-Oncology - Burt Nabors, M.D., Director

The overall goal of the Neuro-Oncology program is to provide an environment that nurtures the development of new therapeutic approaches that can be applied to patients suffering from brain tumors and other neurologic malignancies.

Contact: (205) 934-1813

Drug Discovery and Development - Richard Whitley, M.D., and Mark Walter, Ph.D., Directors

The Drug Discovery and Development Program is the newest research area of the Cancer Center, focusing on the researching and development of therapeutic agents for the research and treatment of cancer.

Contact: (205) 934-5316

Cancer Cell Biology - Etty N. Benveniste, Ph.D., Director

The overall goal of the Cancer Cell Biology Program is to identify and validate mechanisms of tumor suppression and transformation through use of complimentary approaches and to facilitate transfer of novel observations to the clinic.

Contact: (205) 975-0556

Tumor Immunology - David Curiel, Ph.D., and Donald Buchsbaum, Ph.D., Directors

The goals of the Tumor Immunology Program are to understand the normal development and differentiation of the cells of the immune system and to use this information to explore mechanisms of oncogenesis and immune response. In addition, preclinical studies of targeted immunotherapy using monoclonal antibodies, fusion proteins, gene therapy, and vaccine strategies are being explored.

Contact: (205) 934-8627

Women's Cancer - Ronald Alvarez, M.D., and Kirby Bland, M.D., Directors

The Women’s Cancer Program is dedicated to the study of cancers that are unique to women. These malignancies are among the five leading causes of cancer related deaths among women and account for approximately 25% of cancer related mortality in women in the United States. Thus, the Women’s Cancer Program’s initiatives are of vital importance to women in their assault on the cancers that have a major impact on their health.

Contact: (205) 934-4968