The mission of the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center (SKCC) is to leverage research expertise to reduce the overall incidence, burden, and mortality from cancer in Greater Philadelphia and beyond. SKCC goals are realized through unique strengths in addressing cancer problems through collaboration across basic, clinical, and population research disciplines. As a matrixed, consortium cancer center, SKCC leverages the intellectual strength of discoveries of members at Thomas Jefferson University (TJU), Drexel University (DU) Schools of Medicine and Public Health, and Lankenau Institute for Medical Research (LIMR). Expertise is clustered into five major Research Programs, two of which are Discipline-Based Programs and three of which are Disease-Oriented Programs. A notable feature of SKCC Programs is that each is comprised of highly integrated basic, clinical, and population researchers, working together on research areas that address the cancer-associated needs of the catchment area. This is an intentional structure that further blossomed under the guidance of new SKCC leadership and the revitalized External Advisory Board (EAB). Given the health research and care focus of the parent university (TJU), this mechanism of Program integration mirrors the strong translational focus and interdisciplinary nature of the organization. SKCC utilizes the TIPS (Transdisciplinary Integration of Population Science) mechanism as a highly specialized, cross-cutting organizational structure that has the benefit of allowing population scientists to remain programmatically integrated into Programs with basic and clinical researchers, as well as providing a platform for cultivating new population oriented strategies that can be deployed across all Programs. Thematic working groups also exist that link subspecialties across Programs, in addition to Shared Resources that provide exceptional expertise, services, and technologies required for leading edge investigation and high scientific impact. Under the new Director, Dr. Knudsen (appointed January 2015), SKCC sharpened focus on addressing catchment area needs, nurtured transdisciplinary research, expanded research capabilities, extended outreach and clinical research into the community, and enhanced the pace of bench-to-bedside discovery. The roadmap for the SKCC mission is paved by a strategic plan deemed IMPACT, developed by Dr. Knudsen and highly engaged SKCC Leaders. Under Dr. Knudsen?s leadership, SKCC increased: membership, the pace and breadth of impactful discovery, bench-to-bedside translation, clinical trial activity, cancer-focused funding, capacity to address the cancer needs of the catchment area, and the overall impact of the Center. Current aims are to: 1) Discover the molecular basis of cancer development & progression in diverse populations through integration of basic, population, and clinical research; 2) Develop knowledge into effective new prevention, detection, and treatment strategies for cancer, emphasizing catchment area needs; 3) Disseminate through patient education and training of laboratory-based, population, and clinical scientists; 4) Deliver and enhance access to the most advanced cancer care.
The overarching goal of the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center (SKCC) is to leverage research expertise to reduce the overall incidence, burden, and mortality from cancer in Greater Philadelphia and beyond. SKCC goals are realized through unique strengths in addressing cancer problems through collaboration across basic, clinical, and population research disciplines. SKCC is nucleated at Thomas Jefferson University (TJU) and enriched by fully integrated research consortium partners from Drexel University (DU)'s School of Medicine and School of Public Health and the Lankenau Institute for Medical Research (LIMR); building on these strengths, SKCC focuses on addressing catchment area needs through nurturing transdisciplinary research, expanding innovative research capabilities, extending outreach and clinical research into the community, and enhancing the pace of bench-to-bedside discovery.
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