OSU Comprehensive Cancer Center

Michael Caligiuri, MD, Director

The Cancer Centers Program of the National Cancer Institute supports specific academic and research institutions throughout the United States to sustain broad-based, coordinated, interdisciplinary programs in cancer research. In 1976 the National Cancer Institute (NCI) designated The Ohio State University as one of the nation’s first Comprehensive Cancer Centers. The OSUCCC focuses on all aspects of cancer care: prevention, diagnosis, treatment, control, rehabilitation and education. As one of only 41 NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, the OSUCCC’s top priority is translating basic research findings into clinical applications. The OSUCCC has approximately 215 cancer investigators representing 14 of the 18 colleges at Ohio State, as well as another 60 cancer investigators at affiliated institutions, including Columbus Children’s Hospital (CCH) and the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC). The OSUCCC comprises seven research programs whose member investigators collectively generate nearly $125 million annually in cancer-relevant research funding, more than three quarters of which is peer-reviewed funding.

Ongoing Research Programs

Cancer Control – Focuses on early detection, survivorship and behavioral strategies related to cancer prevention and control. Co-Leaders: Electra Paskett, PhD, MsPH, and Mary Ellen Wewers, PhD, MPH, RN
Experimental Therapeutics – Evaluates novel therapeutics, imaging, cell therapeutics and drug targeting. Co-Leaders: Michael Grever, MD, and Samson Jacob, PhD
Immunology – Focuses on basic T-cell biology, with applications in vaccine development, and on cellular innate immunity, with applications in antibodydependent cellular cytotoxicity. Leader: William Carson III, MD
Molecular Biology and Cancer Genetics – Seeks to understand the control of gene expression as it relates to cell proliferation, DNA replication, differentiation, developmental regulation and the molecular basis of cancer. Co-Leaders: Albert de la Chapelle, MD, PhD, and Michael Ostrowski, PhD
Molecular Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention – Investigates effects of genetic alterations induced by chemical toxins and infectious agents, identifies tumor-suppressor genes and studies other aspects of multi-stage carcinogenesis. Leader: Steven Clinton, MD, PhD
Pediatric Oncology – Enhances the care of children with blood diseases and cancer through innovative research and facilitation of translational research studies, and improves care for cancer survivors. Co-Leaders: John Perentesis, MD (at CCHMC) and Stephen Qualman, MD (at CCH)
Viral Oncogenesis – Seeks to discover which retroviruses contribute to human cancer and to develop and implement gene-delivery strategies using retroviral vectors. Co-Leaders: E. Antonio Chiocca, MD, PhD, and Patrick Green, PhD.

Research Accomplishments of 2006

The OSUCCC – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute received a five-year, $1.25 million Livestrong Survivorship Center of Excellence grant from the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF). The grant will provide operational support for research, educational and patient support services for cancer survivors. Charles Shapiro, MD, is principal investigator of the grant and director of the survivorship center, which is one of only seven such centers funded by the LAF in the United States.
Led by principal investigator Samson Jacob, PhD, co-leader of the Experimental Therapeutics Program, the OSUCCC received a five-year, $11.84 million program project grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) entitled “DNA Methylation and Chromatin Modifications: Mechanisms & Applications in Cancer Therapy.” This is the sixth NCI programmatic grant awarded to OSUCCC investigators in the past five years.
The OSUCCC increased its level of research funding from the NCI by 12.5 percent, from $35.2 million in 2005 to $39.6 million in 2006.
Through collaborations with multiple Ohio State University colleges and departments, the OSUCCC recruited 20 cancer faculty, physicians and scientists.
Former OSUCCC Director Clara Bloomfield, MD, who now serves as cancer scholar and senior adviser to the OSUCCC – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, was selected as a Distinguished University Professor at Ohio State, the University’s highest faculty award. Bloomfield also received the prestigious Distinguished Service Award for Scientific Achievement from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
Another 12 OSUCCC investigators were named Fellows in the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). In all, 45 OSUCCC members are now AAAS Fellows.
Three OSUCCC members – Manisha Shah, MD; Kimberly Kelly, PhD; and Vipul Patel, MD, were recognized for their achievements by Business First’s “Forty Under Forty” program.
Carlo Croce, MD, who leads the Human Cancer Genetics Program at Ohio State and is a member of the OSUCCC’s Molecular Biology and Cancer Genetics Program, led a team of investigators from three colleges and five departments to a successful bid for a five-year, $6.1 million Targeted Investment in Excellence (TIE) award from Ohio State. The grant will focus on developing, validating and commercializing tests and microRNA drugs for the diagnosis, monitoring, prognosis and treatment of human malignancies.
The OSUCCC – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute moved from 29th in 2005 to 21st in 2006 in U.S.News & World Report’s annual rankings of “America’s Best Hospitals” for cancer care.

Research Accomplishments of 2005

Having received a numerical score equivalent to “outstanding” following the NCI’s completion of its scientific peer-review, the OSUCCC renewed its NCI-designation as a “comprehensive” cancer center and was awarded core grant funding of $19.2 million over a five-year period.
The OSUCCC entered a collaborative agreement with Columbus Children’s Hospital and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center to broaden the study of childhood cancer and hasten the transfer of findings to clinical care. This led to the establishment of a Pediatric Oncology Program within the OSUCCC.
The OSUCCC was one of only nine institutions in the country to receive a phase II clinical trials contract from the National Cancer Institute. Having this $3 million, three-year contract, entitled “Early Therapeutics Development with Phase II Emphasis” (PI: Miguel Villalona, MD), coupled with a longstanding NCI phase I clinical trials grant (PI: Michael Grever, MD) for new cancer drug development at OSU, further distinguishes the OSUCCC as a leader in translational/early-phase clinical research.
The OSUCCC–James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute moved from 39th in 2004 to 29th in 2005 in U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings of “America’s Best Hospitals.”
The OSUCCC spearheaded the recruitment of more than 20 new basic and physician scientists focused on cancer research to OSU in 2005.
Many OSUCCC members were recognized nationally for their clinical and scientific achievements by organizations such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Association for Cancer Research, the American Association of Clinical Investigation, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and the International Association for Comparative Research on Leukemia and Related Diseases.
The OSUCCC increased its level of research funding from the NCI to more than $35.2 million in 2005, up 13 percent from $30.9 million in 2004.

Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center
A458 Starling Loving Hall
320 W. 10th Avenue
Columbus, OH 43210
(614) 293-7517