Founded in 1884 as New York Cancer Hospital on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) moved to its current location in 1936. Since then, it has been offering the most advanced therapies for every form of cancer – in many cases, before those therapies become standard treatment. It is the oldest and largest private cancer center in the world and continually ranks as one of the top two cancer centers in the US. This grant supports MSK’s Initiative in Radiotheranostics, which combines the use of one radioactive drug to identify and target a cancer tumor and a second radioactive drug to deliver cancer-destroying therapy to the tumor. Recent advances make possible the use of exponentially more powerful alpha-emitting particles in this process, potentially revolutionizing the precision treatment of cancer and limiting damage to healthy cells for better patient outcomes.

Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) is the oldest and largest private cancer center in the world and continually ranks as one of the top two cancer centers in the US. This grant renews and builds upon an initial grant in 2017 to harness the power of digital imaging and artificial intelligence to reduce melanoma mortality through improved early diagnosis. Melanoma is the least common but deadliest of all skin cancers. As with most cancers, the early detection and accurate diagnosis of melanoma or its pre-conditions, are essential to successful treatment. In collaboration with international scientists and institutions, Dr. Allan Halpern, chief of dermatology at MSK, has spearheaded an open-source archive of melanoma images comprehensive enough for AI algorithms to predict and detect cancer cells more accurately than either the naked eye or less sophisticated computer technology.

For a joint venture with the City University of New York to provide post-graduate fellowships to train a new generation of leaders in the fields of molecular imaging and nanotechnology.

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) is a research hospital dedicated to cancer research, training and patient care. This funding will support the creation of The Tow Center for Developmental Oncology (TCDO) at MSKCC. TCDO will serve as the hospital’s hub for pediatric cancer research and unite a skilled team of translational researchers to study cancers affecting children, adolescents and young adults. The research center will offer a bi-directional translation, meaning that clinical observations and patient samples will be transferred from bedside to lab, and lab discoveries will be brought directly to patients at the clinic.

The Michael G. Harris Cell Therapy & Cell Engineering Facility plays a critical role in further developing innovative therapies for pediatric patients. With about 100 times as many adults as children being diagnosed each year with cancer, pharmaceutical companies focus their efforts on the larger adult population. In contrast, the creation of this state-of-the-art facility enables Memorial Sloan-Kettering to move ahead aggressively with the development of investigational biological approaches for children as well as for adults. In addition to meeting the need for cell-based therapies that benefit pediatric cancer patients, such as blood components engineered for heightened action against tumors, the Harris Facility offers new promise for treatment of other severe blood disorders affecting children, including ß-thalassemia and sickle cell anemia.

The Lucille Castori Center supports Memorial Sloan-Kettering’s efforts to spearhead progress in the rapidly advancing field of research related to infections in cancer patients, microbial causes of cancer, and inflammation associated with the development or progression of cancer. The Castori Center brings together existing laboratories and investigators with research interests focused on these three areas. Investigators include Eric Pamer, M.D., the Director of the Castori Center and and one of its founding members, and founding members Michael Glickman, M.D.; Alexander Rudensky, Ph.D.; Stewart Shuman, M.D., Ph.D.; and Joao Xavier, Ph.D. To accomplish its objectives, the Castori Center helps underwrite academic and research activities that focus on microbial causes of cancer, infections associated with cancer treatment and inflammatory responses that lead to cancer. It supports the Molecular Microbiology Core Facility, which provides investigators with technical platforms and equipment to characterize microbial populations in clinical and experimental samples. The Castori Center sponsors an annual research symposium featuring a public lecture and seminars by leading investigators who address such topics as the role of inflammatory cells in tumors and the role of commensal bacteria in carcinogenesis.

To create laboratories and support the collaborative research work of approximately 20 scientists who seek to translate laboratory findings into clinical investigations and applications that will improve treatment and care for patients afflicted with a range of cancers. These translational researchers, who maintain active membership in clinical departments, will more sharply focus their work on the development of novel approaches to detection, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of human cancer. This grant also endows the Emily Tow Chair in Oncology.

The Claire Tow Pediatric Day Hospital is a 33-bed inpatient unit that serves children undergoing treatment for life-threatening cancers. The pavilion includes a variety of special features to provide a bright and comforting space for the children and their families. The Day Hospital includes 25 technologically advanced treatment rooms that allow the delivery of complex therapies on an outpatient basis, as well as space for a school program and recreation. More than 29,000 outpatient visits take place each year. the Claire Tow Chair in Pediatric Oncology, which is held by Dr. Richard J. O’Reilly, chairman of the Department of Pediatrics and chief of the Bone Marrow Transplant Service. (test)

The Claire Tow Chair in Pediatric Oncology recognizes a doctor who specializes in pediatric oncology research at Memorial Sloan Kettering. This position is currently held by Dr. Richard J. O’Reilly, former chair of the Department of Pediatrics and chief of the Bone Marrow Transplant Service.