NEW YORK, NY (PRWEB) JULY 30, 2015 -- The Tisch Cancer Institute (TCI) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has been named a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer center. TCI joins an elite group of 69 cancer institutions nationwide that have earned this designation, which is based on scientific excellence, robust clinical research, and beneficial community impact.

The designation includes a five-year, $8.5 million grant that will support research programs, recruitment of top academic researchers, and enhancements in community engagement. The funding complements $79 million in current cancer research grants earned by TCI investigators.

“The NCI designation recognizes our deep commitment to advance the field of cancer research, treatment, and prevention, and to bring these innovations to cancer patients and their families,” said Steven Burakoff, MD, Lillian and Henry M. Stratton Professor of Cancer Medicine and Director of The Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai. “The designation reflects Mount Sinai’s significant investment in cancer research, world-class faculty, and cutting-edge facilities.”
In meeting the rigorous standards of the NCI designation, TCI completed a competitive review process. TCI demonstrated its innovative and comprehensive research into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer, as well as its commitment to the community through informational programs, education, and outreach. The NCI commended TCI’s strengths in basic science, clinical research and community-based outreach.
“Through Dr. Burakoff’s leadership, Mount Sinai has become a national leader in basic, clinical, and population cancer research and treatment,” said Kenneth L. Davis, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer, Mount Sinai Health System. “The strengths in research that were central to our NCI designation include harnessing the immune system to attack cancer cells, studying the impact of environmental toxins on cancer, understanding liver cancer biology, and based on our unique New York ethnic communities, studying the genetic differences and care disparities that drive greater cancer risk in some patients.”

TCI’s recent growth has included the recruitment of a number of prominent physicians and researchers (55 overall in the last seven years), including William Oh, MD, Associate Director for Clinical and Translational Research and Chief of Hematology and Medical Oncology; Randall Holcombe, MD, Deputy Director and Chief Medical Officer for Cancer; Marshall Posner, MD, Associate Director for Clinical Trials Infrastructure and Medical Director of Head and Neck Cancer; and Paolo Boffetta, MD, MPH, Associate Director for Population Science and Director of Translational Epidemiology. In its assessment, the NCI praised Dr. Burakoff’s leadership in recruiting strong leaders to further advance the field of cancer research at TCI.

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