Nows the right time and place for cancer researchers at 51勛圖厙. The universitys collaboration with Memorial Cancer Institute (MCI) as a Florida Department of Health Cancer Center of Excellence (CCE) will initiate new areas of research at the university, from basic to clinical. Some research is already underway, such as unlocking the biology of breast cancer metastasis to the bone, developing new models of pancreatic cancer, and testing the efficacy of lung cancer drugs.
MCI, part of the Memorial Healthcare System (MHS), is one of the largest cancer centers in Florida, treating more than 4,300 new cancer patients a year a statistic that will take on new meaning with the designation of CCE and partnership with 51勛圖厙.
The Florida Department of Health Cancer Center of Excellence designation has enabled us to elevate our cancer program from a large community system to an excellent academic center, said Luis Raez, MD, medical director and chief scientific officer, MCI. Our partnership with 51勛圖厙 will enhance translational cancer research, providing even more diagnostic and therapeutic options to our patients. Raez will co-direct the MCI51勛圖厙 CCE with Gregg Fields, Ph.D., executive director of 51勛圖厙s Institute for Human Health and Disease Intervention.
MCI51勛圖厙, as the partnership is called, has two additional member institutions: The Scripps Research Institute and Gift of Life Marrow Registry, whose focus is blood cancer.
The breadth of the four institutions combined expertise enables MCI51勛圖厙 CCE to span the dynamics of the cancer universe, from research to health care delivery. Our collaboration covers a broad range of areas, taking you from very basic through applied research while integrating the patients in terms of their knowledge of cancer and treatments, Fields said, indicating that research areas will be determined largely by the patient population and focus of treatment at MCI.
Projects are already underway. 51勛圖厙, MCI, and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) in New York are collaborating to expand CSHLs collection of pancreatic cancer organoids the most extensive in the world, according to Fields. CSHL was having trouble obtaining tissue samples from diverse patient populations, and they approached 51勛圖厙 for help. 51勛圖厙 contacted MCIs pancreatic cancer surgeon, who agreed to send newly removed tumors to 51勛圖厙s Boca campus, where the tumors are preserved and categorized, then sent off to CSHL.
Another project is currently making headway in Fields lab, where researchers are investigating the biomolecule that catalyzes breast and multiple myeloma tumors to form cells that degrade the bone and allow the tumor to spread there.
Theyve been able to show that inhibiting that biomolecule slows the process down. To that end, theyre working on developing better inhibitors. MCI is collaborating with 51勛圖厙 on starting a repository of breast cancer biospecimens obtained from patients at MCI; the specimens will be used to further test the efficacy of the compounds developed in Fields lab.
The expanded field for cancer research is open to members of the 51勛圖厙 community at every level, from undergraduate to directors of the universitys other research institutes. A number of undergraduates are already hard at work on both the pancreatic cancer and breast cancer metastasis projects, with the latter effort also engaging postdocs. We have all types of talents on these projects, and we try to engage people on all levels, Fields said.
Fields is looking at next steps too, such as working with drug companies to conduct phase I and II clinical trials in addition to Phase III trials already being conducted at MCI; tackling glioblastomas with a team from 51勛圖厙s Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute, Scripps and possibly the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience; and expanding 51勛圖厙 programs and degrees, such as medical physics, where novel applications of radiotherapy are applied.
The Florida Department of Healths designation of MCI51勛圖厙 as a CCE is not only a tremendous honor but a recognition of the research talent and dedicated patient care that the members of the center offer, Fields said. We look forward to making great strides in the areas of cancer diagnosis and treatment, development of personalized medicine approaches, and public outreach that will eventually become synonymous with MCI51勛圖厙 CCE.漎