by Vicky Cerino, UNMC Communications
OMAHA, Neb. (June 14, 2013)—In athletics, the Big Ten universities compete against each other but now many will join together against a common foe — cancer.
Leaders from the universities’ cancer centers, including the University of Nebraska, kicked off the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium recently in Chicago. They are uniting to transform cancer research through collaborative oncology trials that leverage the scientific and clinical expertise of the Big Ten universities.
“UNMC is proud to be a part of this consortium which is rich in both scientific research expertise and superior clinical care for patients,” said Ken Cowan, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. “From development of new, improved diagnostic tools to detect cancer earlier, to more effective therapies for treating each patient’s specific tumor, the outcomes of this collaboration will be broad and sustainable, reaching patients not only in these Big Ten Cancer Centers, but nationwide.”
The clinical trials that will be developed will be linked to molecular diagnostics, enabling researchers to understand what drives the cancers to grow and what might be done to stop them from growing.
Also, the consortium forms a powerful collaboration because of the impact each university already has made in cancer research and the solid research infrastructure already in place at each university. The consortium also leverages geographical locations and existing relationships among the cancer centers.
“The consortium will allow our physicians more options for new treatments for all types of cancers available for patients in the region,” said Julie M. Vose, M.D., Neumann M. and Mildred E. Harris Professor and chief of the University of Nebraska Medical Center Division of Hematology/Oncology. “It also means that patients at the other cancer centers can participate in our clinical trials and our patients in other centers’ clinical trials without having to travel for specific types of newer therapies and treatments.”
The Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium creates a unique team-research culture in which cancer leaders will collaborate with and mentor the research leaders of tomorrow with the goal of improving the lives of all cancer patients. The consortium will provide junior faculty and fellows the opportunity to write, conduct and complete trials, which would not normally be done at a single institution or on a national level for young investigators.
The following universities and cancer centers comprise the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium:
- Indiana University (Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center)
- Northwestern University (Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center)
- Penn State University (Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute)
- Purdue University (Purdue University Center for Cancer Research)
- Rutgers University (The Cancer Institute of New Jersey becomes part of Rutgers on July 1)
- University of Illinois (University of Illinois Cancer Center)
- University of Iowa (Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center)
- University of Michigan (University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center)
- University of Minnesota (Masonic Cancer Center)
- University of Nebraska (Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center)
- University of Wisconsin (Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center)
The Indianapolis-based Hoosier Oncology Group will serve as the administrative headquarters for the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium. Since 1984, Hoosier Oncology Group has initiated more than 150 trials with more than 4,000 patients.
About the Big Ten
The Big Ten Conference is an association of world-class universities whose member institutions share a common mission of research, graduate, professional and undergraduate teaching and public service. Founded in 1896, the Big Ten has sustained a comprehensive set of shared practices and policies that enforce the priority of academics in student-athletes’ lives and emphasize the values of integrity, fairness and competitiveness. The broad-based athletic programs of the 12 Big Ten institutions sponsor more than 300 teams competing for championships in 25 official conference sports, 12 for men and 13 for women. Big Ten universities provide in excess of $136 million in athletic scholarship aid to more than 8,200 men and women student-athletes, the most of any conference. For more information, visit www.bigten.org.
Through world-class research and patient care, UNMC generates breakthroughs that make life better for people throughout Nebraska and beyond. Its education programs train more health professionals than any other institution in the state. Learn more at unmc.edu.
