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Vol. 08 Issue 2, Summer 2003

BCERF Joining the Sprecher Institute for Cancer Research
The Ribbon 

Rodney L. Page, Director, Sprecher Institute for Comparative Cancer Research and Professor of Medicine

The Cornell Program on Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors (BCERF) was created eight years ago in response to a major public need for sound science to be brought to the public, state and federal agencies, and researchers in a way that facilitated public protection against environmental risks of breast cancer. While serving as a neutral arbiter of the science, our efforts have helped to inform and enhance public health protection legislation at both the state and federal levels. The model established for integrating the best scholarly translational research with grassroots public education aimed at preventative medicine/risk reduction has set the standard for public health education in the land grant university setting. Our impact has extended well beyond NYS with both regional and coast-to-coast collaborations as a hallmark of our current activities. Now BCERF enters a new era with the opportunity to join the newly created Sprecher Institute for Comparative Cancer Research in Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine. This Institute will provide a programmatic home for the majority of Cornell's cancer research effort and also provide novel opportunity to extend comparative medicine not only across different cancers but also different species.

Under the new banner of Cancer and Environment, BCERF will continue its tradition of providing timely science-based information on environmental risk factors for breast cancer. However, as additional funding becomes available, we will apply the same successful model to address additional human cancers and the protection of our pets and wildlife from the same environmental hazards. Our new linkage to the best cancer research and clinical application at Cornell will certainly enhance our future efforts and we are pleased to join the Sprecher Institute at its inception.

Rodney R. Dieter, BCERF Director and Professor of Professor of Immunotoxicology

The administrative transfer of BCERF to the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University coincides with the establishment of The Sprecher Institute for Comparative Cancer Research. The mission of the Sprecher Institute is to promote discovery and translation of research from basic science to clinical implementation for prevention and treatment of cancer for all species. The transition is entirely consistent with the mission of the College of Veterinary Medicine which is to enhance the health of animals and humans. This merger creates unique opportunities for both BCERF and the Sprecher Institute. The remarkable scientific and educational resource that BCERF has developed during the last eight years will be extended to include unique constituents such as agricultural families and open avenues of collaboration between those studying environmental causes of cancer in all organisms. For example, spatial pattern analysis on a database of cancers from companion animals living in Long Island is currently being conducted relative to the GIS data from human cancers and environmental contamination and socio-economic data. Such new information may lead to previously unavailable correlations. The basic scientific strengths of the Sprecher Institute will also provide the means to develop investigations on the causal associations of environmental risks and cancer development. To this end, normal and tumor tissue repositories from multiple species can be sampled to investigate hypotheses common to cancer evolution in the full constellation of affected subjects. The goal of the combined efforts of BCERF and the Sprecher Institute is to establish a broader foundation for causation, prevention and control of cancer and we believe such a comparative approach to cancer will yield great benefits.

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Last Update 08.06.03