The mission of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center
is to provide the organizational infrastructure and the resources
to promote interdisciplinary laboratory, clinical and population
based cancer research and to facilitate the application of this
research to cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment, especially
for patients in the tri-state region (Northern New Jersey, Southeastern
New York and Southwestern Connecticut) served by this Cancer
Center.
Furthermore the Cancer Center provides education and training
in cancer research for scientists, clinical investigators and
health professionals at all levels as well as for patients and
the lay community.
These objectives are facilitated by an organizational structure
that has 4 major Divisions:
- Laboratory Research;
- Clinical Research;
- Cancer Causation, Prevention, and Control and
- Core Facilities.
Essential support is provided by the Office of Administration
and a Visiting Scientific Advisory Committee. Fields of research
are organized into a total of 11 Programs that facilitate research
within a given discipline and foster interdisciplinary collaboration.
A series of 14 shared core facilities provide state-of-the-art
expertise, technology and resources with considerable efficiency
and cost savings. A specific emphasis of this Cancer Center,
and a unifying theme that joins together this interdisciplinary
research approach, is the use of concepts and methods in cellular
and molecular biology to enhance our understanding of the etiology
and pathophysiology of human cancer, and to develop more effective
strategies for cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment.