The Masonic Cancer Center (MCC) is an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center dedicated to cancer research, education, and patient care for the citizens of Minnesota and the surrounding region. Since the time of the first award in 1997, there has been growth of the membership and research base. In our original application, there were 89 members, this has increased to 229 members from 53 departments and 13 colleges and schools of the University of Minnesota. Since our last renewal, there has been growth in NCI-funded research from $35.5M to $41.1M, an increase of almost 16%. Total cancer related research funding has increased by 6% to $94.0 in 2017 from $88.7M in 2013. The MCC is organized into 6 Programs that focus on specific scientific themes: Screening, Prevention, Etiology and Cancer Survivorship; Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention; Genetic Mechanisms; Cell Mechanisms: Immunology; and Transplant Biology and Therapy. These Programs are supported by 10 Shared Resources. The past funding period has seen increased emphasis on developing our translational pipeline. Several resources and organizational structures have been put into place to support this effort and to better connect the basic programmatic research with the clinic. These resources include a Cancer Research Translational Initiative to increase the number of investigator-initiated translational trials at MCC and the formation of Translational Working Groups that bring together researchers, clinicians, and others in the oncology community to solve problems in organ-site-specific cancers. We have also established several mechanisms to increase the involvement of the community, and particularly the underserved populations in our catchment area, in clinical research. The MCC is a successful matrix organization in a large public research university that engages its faculty to focus on the problem of cancer. Our last period of support has been characterized by growth, stability in our leadership, enhanced engagement of our community, and creation of several new cancer-focused initiatives.
Overall Narrative The Masonic Cancer Center is an NCI-Designated Cancer Center that creates a collaborative research environment focused on the causes, prevention, detection, and treatment of cancer; applying that knowledge to improve quality of life for patients and survivors; and sharing its discoveries with other scientists, students, professionals, and the community.
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