For Researchers at the University of Chicago Cancer Research Center

Untangling cancer's vast complexity requires an expert team of researchers, state-of-the-art equipment and considerable financial resources. The UCCRC meets this challenge by supporting a broad diversity of more than 200 world-class scientists and clinicians. Although they represent a variety of disciplines, UCCRC members share a common commitment to build on the University of Chicago's history of innovation in cancer research, leverage the power of teamwork, and translate fundamental scientific discoveries into practical applications designed to enhance cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Consequently, the UCCRC's tradition of excellence is as vibrant today as it has ever been.

The Center's supreme strength is its membership, which draws from of the University's greatest asset: the exceptional intellectual capital provided by the community of doctors, medical researchers, chemists, physicists, mathematicians, computer scientists and environmental and social scientists. This alliance of viewpoints and expertise creates the ideal environment for innovation, because it enables members look at issues from a variety of perspectives and helps them to call upon the talents, wisdom and knowledge of their colleagues.

This emphasis on collegial give-and-take hearkens back to founding of the University and its guiding principle: A fundamental body of knowledge is the essential grounding of specialized intellectual pursuits. Dr. James L. Madara (Dean of the Biological Sciences Division and the Pritzker School of Medicine, University Vice-President for Medical Affairs, and CEO, University Medical Center) describes the role of intellectual interaction in these terms: "This is an institution where scholarship is valued above all else, where there is an embedded bias for cross-disciplinary interactions, and where collegiality is recognized and cherished." The UCCRC is one of the finest examples of this principle in action.