2011-2012 UCCCC Annual Report - The University of Chicago ...

A Message from the Director
At the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive
Cancer Center (UCCCC), we are committed to fighting
cancer from every angle.
Our world-class cancer research program elevates the
quality of patient care by offering an unmatched level of
expertise. With 210 renowned physicians and researchers,
we are harnessing the power of personalized medicine
to offer faster, safer, and more effective treatments.
Our multidisciplinary teams of experts are committed
to developing individualized treatment plans to provide
the best possible care for our patients.
We are proud of our tremendous accomplishments,
which reflect our mission to translate ground-breaking
research into new strategies to prevent and treat cancer.
Over the past year, we have expanded efforts to integrate
personalized genomic medicine into routine practice,
expanded our survivorship resources to support
patients, applied the latest innovations in imaging and
genomics to advance our understanding of cancer, and
constructed new facilities that extend the reach of our
comprehensive care, including our new flagship “hospital
for the future.”
The next five years will be pivotal as we embark on a
bold strategic plan that accelerates basic and clinical
research into personalized cancer care. Three major initiatives
will focus on prevention, treatment, and survivorship.
Through the creation of a large multiethnic cohort
of healthy individuals and those at high risk for cancer,
our researchers will gain new knowledge about how
to prevent cancer for at-risk populations. We are also
establishing a new consortium to enhance our efforts
to enroll patients in clinical studies to test the most
effective treatments and interventions available. Sophisticated
tools will be used to link biological and molecular
imaging data with clinical outcomes so that we may
determine the likelihood of treatment response. On a
broader scale, we are leading an initiative to examine
the psychosocial needs of our growing population of
cancer survivors, and to maximize the impact of our
healthcare resources.
The launching of these new initiatives would not be possible
without the steadfast support of our donors who
continue to devote their time and resources to cancer
research. We are grateful for their generosity which has
funded some of our most transformative discoveries.
Building on the UCCCC’s legacy of seminal research discoveries,
our proven leadership in personalized oncology,
and our commitment to delivering the highest quality
comprehensive care, we are poised to transform the
future of medicine and reduce the devastating effects
of cancer.
With heartfelt gratitude,
Michelle M. Le Beau, PhD
Arthur and Marian Edelstein Professor of Medicine
UCCCC Director
a message from the director
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