Dateline DFCI
Putting science to work is dana-Farber's strategic goal
With year one of its Strategic Plan well under way, Dana-Farber has made significant progress toward its goals of driving the next generation of cancer science, advancing the Institute's programs in patient care, and breaking new ground in clinical and translational (bench-to-bedside) research.
Senior research Scientists Ana Borras, PhD, (left) and Yanan Kuang, PhD, confer in the new Translational Research Lab.
Although much of the initial year has involved planning and development, advances have taken place on several scientific fronts. Dana-Farber established a Center for Cancer Systems Biology to study how genes work together in controlling the life of cells, as well as a Center for Clinical and Translational Research that include a translational lab and a clinical care unit serving patients on complex therapeutic studies. The Office for Postdoctoral Training and Career Development also opened its doors to address the needs of hundreds of postdoctoral fellows and graduate students here.
In other areas, the Institute has strengthened its Center for Patient Safety and bolstered its efforts to promote respect and diversity, as well as to reduce cancer-related disparities among different racial, ethnic, and economic groups. With input from patients and families, progress was made on expanding survivorship services for adults and creating a "seamless" system of care with DFCI's two main clinical partners, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Children's Hospital Boston.
"We remain committed to our goal [announced in October 2003] of conquering at least one form of cancer within the decade," says Dana-Farber President Edward J. Benz Jr., MD, "and we will continue to work together and with our partners in research and care to reach it."
