Duke Cancer Center Completion First Stage of Huge Biomedical Revamp

Duke University Medicine is in the midst of a building boom that will transform the medical campus and bring together world-class care, research, and education like never before.  The $235M Cancer Center is scheduled to open on February 27, 2012. The Duke Cancer Institute (DCI) is one of only 40 centers in the country designated by the National Cancer Institute as a “comprehensive cancer center,” combining cutting-edge research with compassionate care.  The other buildings currently under construction are the Duke Medicine Pavilion (mid-2013) and the Learning Center (late 2012) which collectively represent an $880M investment in the Duke Medicine campus.

(The Duke Cancer Center building on December 9, courtesy of Duke Medicine)

The growth of Duke's clinical and teaching infrastructure is part of a larger plan for securing the Comprehensive Cancer Center's place among the top care research institutions in the United States. Duke Cancer Institute's vision is to accelerate research advances related to cancer and improve Duke's ability to translate these discoveries into the most advanced cancer care to patients.  The new medical buildings will bring research labs, patient facilities, and classrooms closer together physically, as well as strengthening the University's revenue stream to support its basic and translational research divisions.  When the Cancer Center opens in two months it will also free up space in the previous Duke Clinic Building, for which an interdisciplinary group is working on the backfill strategy.

The integrating of all aspects of medical therapeutics, from laboratory research to clinical administration, is increasingly becoming the new standard model.  To accommodate this comprehensive approach, Duke initiated the DCI in 2010 to bring greater directional congruity to its cancer programs.  To head this important new entity, Duke brought on board the renowned cancer scientist and Director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Dr. Michael B. Kastan, M.D., Ph.D. to provide coordinated leadership as Executive Director of the DCI. A pioneer in describing molecular and cellular events that cause cancer and its progression, Kastan has garnered a national reputation as a visionary leader in cancer research and care.  He says of his new position and the DCI's mission:

“It is exactly what cancer medicine should be about. It’s the merging and strategic oversight of a seamless structure, including everything from basic research to patient care, all coordinated as part of a continuum.”

If you are a supplier of life science research laboratory equipment in the Research Triangle Area of Durham, Chapel Hill, and Raleigh, North Carolina, come to Biotechnology Calendar Inc.'s Duke BioResearch Product Faire™ trade show event April 19th, 2012. This annual event, now in its 13th year, is an excellent opportunity to network with researchers, lab managers, purchasing agents and other industry professionals to showcase and discover the latest in laboratory technology.