Program Leader: Chung Lee, PhD
Program Co-Leader: William Catalona , MD

The Prostate Cancer Program is a fully developed, highly interactive and productive program. The program consists of accomplished faculty conducting highly translational studies centered on the themes of molecular and cell biology, epidemiology, prevention, early diagnosis, prognosis, risk factors, therapeutics, quality of life, and outcomes research. The Program Leader is Chung Lee, PhD and the Co-Leader is William Catalona, MD, both eminent investigators with distinguished careers in prostate cancer research, whose skills and expertise complement each other. The overall goal of the Prostate Cancer Program is to coordinate and enhance the interactions among researchers in the area of prostate cancer at Northwestern University. The importance of the Prostate Cancer Program stems from the fact that prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the third leading cause of cancer death in men in the United States. During this past funding period the Prostate Cancer Program has been enhanced by receiving a prestigious NCI award for a SPORE in Prostate Cancer (P50 CA90386). SPORE funding has enabled Prostate Cancer Program investigators to establish a tissue bank with specimens from over 1,500 consented patients, which is supported by a comprehensive clinical database. This important infrastructure has facilitated the initiation of at least ten translational research projects within as well as outside the Northwestern University community. This interdisciplinary Prostate Program consists of 25 faculty representing 12 departments and 3 schools. Between 1/1/2001 and 9/15/2006, there were 427 cancer-relevant publications from the current Protstate Cancer Program members. Seventy-One (17%) of these publications represent intra-programmatic collaborations and 94 (22%) of these publications represent inter-programmatic collaborations. Total current cancer relevant peer reviewed funding for the Prostate Cancer Program is $5,168,930 (direct) with $2,527,780 (direct) from NCI, and $2,641,150 (direct) from other peer reviewed sources. The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center provides the necessary infrastructure to further develop investigators productivity in prostate cancer research. The interactions between investigators, which are facilitated by the Prostate Cancer Program, are synergistic and essential for multidisciplinary intra- and inter-programmatic translational prostate cancer research.

Previous Page