Purdue University’s Institute for Cancer Research receives renewal of Cancer Center Support Grant

Purdue University’s Institute for Cancer Research has received a renewal of the Cancer Center Support Grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute. The $9.4 million in grant funding will allow the PICR to continue operating as an NCI Basic Laboratory Cancer Center. The PICR was first designated as an NCI Basic Laboratory Cancer Center in 1978, two years after its establishment. The designation allows the PICR to conduct preclinical research and collaborate with other research institutions.

According to an article on Purdue University’s website, Dan DeLaurentis, who serves as the university’s executive vice president for research, was quoted as saying of the PICR’s work, “Sustained, high-impact, interdisciplinary research is central to Purdue’s growth as a leading research university. Through the work of the PICR, we are generating new knowledge, developing transformative technologies and forging a research ecosystem positioned to shape the next era of discovery in combating cancer.”

The PICR is one of eight Basic Laboratory Cancer Centers in the country. The center’s faculty receive over $30 million per year funding for their cancer research. The center has 115 faculty members from 19 academic departments and seven colleges within the university, with experts in areas including biology, chemistry, engineering, computation, pharmacy, nutrition science, structural biology, and veterinary medicine.

Andrew Mesecar, who serves as the Robert W. Miller Director of the Purdue Institute for Cancer Research and Walther Professor of Cancer Structural Biology, said, “Every FDA-approved therapy, every diagnostic that catches cancer earlier and every targeted cancer treatment that reduces harm to healthy tissue traces its roots back to fundamental scientific discoveries. This renewal reflects national confidence in the kind of rigorous, curiosity-driven research Purdue is known for, as well as our role and impact in translating our discoveries into new cancer treatments and diagnostics.”

Among the contributions to cancer research from the PICR’s researchers are discovery of protein tyrosine phosphatases for use in immunotherapies, and structural biology methodologies for use in cancer drugs.

For more information about Purdue University, visit the school’s website.