The UR School of Medicine and Dentistry was awarded an $11.5 million, five-year Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) grant from the National Cancer Institute for the expansion of lymphoma research and clinical trials at the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center.
The SPORE grant focuses on funding translational research projects that advance scientific findings from the laboratory to clinic settings, according to the Wilmot Cancer Center’s Web site.
Offered since 2000, it is a very selective award, and the Wilmot Cancer Center is only the fifth institution to receive a lymphoma SPORE grant.
‘Only a small number of institutions have been awarded a SPORE grant,” UR President Joel Seligman said. ‘It is a major accomplishment for the Wilmot Cancer Center to earn this grant. It’s a testament to the cooperation that exists between clinical and basic scientists within the program and the collaborative environment that exists at the University of Rochester Medical Center.”
The Wilmot Cancer Center recently opened up a new $65 million facility that brings its employees together under one roof. Dean of the School of Medicine and Dentistry David Guzick believes that this grant will further help unite researchers.
‘The SPORE grant pushes Wilmot’s already strong translational research efforts in lymphoma to a new level, bringing together teams of scientists and physicians to study the disease from fresh angles,” he said.
Medical Center CEO Bradford Berk hopes that the Center’s success will continue.
‘This SPORE grant represents the first of what we hope to be several SPORE grants in the years to come,” he said. ‘It confirms the caliber of our science and our ability to perform research that translates into life-extending cures.”
Wrobel is a member of the class of 2010.
