Indiana University (IU) Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center advances
the understanding, prevention and treatment of cancer throughout Indiana
and the world with patient-centered care, acceleration of promising science
and collaborative educational programs. Established in 1992 as the
IU Cancer Center, it has been an NCI-designated Cancer Center since 1999
and is the only center with such distinction in Indiana that provides
patient care. It changed its name in 2006 to reflect the philanthropic
support of the Melvin and Bren Simon family.
There are about 38,000 outpatient visits and 4,100 inpatient visits to the
IU Simon Cancer Center each year by patients seeking comprehensive,
multidisciplinary care for a broad range of cancer and blood-related
illnesses in both adults and children. With its physicians leading about
300 clinical trials for pediatric and adult cancers, IU Simon Cancer
Center offers patients diagnostic, treatment and prevention options not
available elsewhere.
IU Simon Cancer received $11.5 million in NCI funding and a total of $32.5
million in other NIH funding for fiscal year 2006. Over 200 investigators
conduct research in the areas of experimental and development therapeutics,
breast cancer, cancer control, as well as hematopoiesis, microenvironment and
immunology. The IU Simon Cancer Center’s Translational Research Acceleration
Collaboration (ITRAC) is the internal planning and funding process which has
recently been implemented to speed the development of new cancer diagnostics
and therapies from the laboratory to the bedside. Molecular and environmental
carcinogenesis is one research area currently in development at the center.
Physician and basic research scientists teach nearly 2,000 students, residents,
and fellows each year at the IU Simon Cancer Center. Educational programs sponsored
by faculty at this center include the Summer Research Program dedicated to engaging
students from underserved populations in biomedical and behavioral science careers,
the Cancer Biology Training Program for pre-doctoral and post-doctoral students who
wish to pursue a career in cancer research and the Behavioral Oncology Program for
post-graduate careers in behavioral cancer control research.
In Fall 2008, the IU Simon Cancer Center, in partnership with Clarian Health and IU
School of Medicine, will complete a $150 million, 405,000-square-foot integrated
outpatient and inpatient center with an environment that fosters both a holistic
approach to care and collaboration between basic research and physician scientists.
With the completion of Research III in the first quarter of 2009, it will add another
125,000 square feet of laboratory space to its existing 200,000 square feet of
dedicated cancer research space.
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