The Winship Cancer Institute (WCI) at Emory University is a multidisciplinary
matrix center that supports, facilitates, coordinates, and centralizes cancer research,
quality oncology care, education, and dissemination at Emory University and its affiliate
institutions in order to reduce the burden of cancer, associated morbidity, and mortality
in the state of Georgia, the Southeastern region, and the U.S. Organizationally, the
WCI is a unit in the Woodruff Health Sciences Center and is led by the WCI Director,
Walter J. Curran, MD, who also serves as Associate Vice-President for Health
Affairs, and a Senior Leadership team.
The WCI members represent 19 departments across four schools: the Schools of Medicine,
Public Health, Nursing, and Emory College. Members engage in four transdisciplinary
programs directed by Program Leaders: Cancer Genetics and Epigenetics (CGE),
Molecular Pathways and Biomarkers (MPB), Discovery and Drug Development (DDT),
and Cancer Control and Population Science (CCPS). Shared core resources provide
services in Clinical Trials, Cell Imaging and Microscopy, Biomarker Profiling,
Biostatistics, and Human Pathology and Tissue Procurement. Developing cores include
Transgenic Mouse and Gene Targeting, Population Science Database Management, and
Bioinformatics. The WCI currently occupies dedicated facilities of over 350,000 nsf.
The WCI's transdisciplinary research focus is noted by multiple team science awards,
such as P01's, P20's, P50 Imaging Center, P60 Center for Health Equality, the U54
Cancer Center for Nanotechnology Excellence, the Emory Prevention Research Center,
and a Head and Neck SPORE.
The WCI benefits from intense support from the University and its community partners,
including the American Cancer Society, Morehouse School of Medicine, Georgia Institute of
Technology, Georgia State University, University of Georgia, the national Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, Georgia Research Alliance, Emory/Atlanta Clinical
Translational Science Institute (CTSA), and the Georgia Cancer Coalition (GCC), which has
provided over $28M in support of more than 50 GCC Scholars among WCI members. With the state
of Georgia as its catchment area, the WCI and its community partners are focused on outreach,
dissemination of research findings, and addressing health disparities throughout
the entire state, whether due to lack of access to healthcare, inadequate insurance,
or disparities experienced due to race, ethnicity, gender or geographic location.
The Winship Cancer Institute's physicians and other healthcare practitioners deliver
compassionate, patient-centered, and state-of-the-art clinical care to more than 5000
new cancer cases per year at Emory University Hospital, Emory University Hospital
Midtown, The Emory Clinic, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, the Georgia Cancer
Center of Excellence at Grady Memorial Hospital, and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Over 250 clinical trials are open at Emory and its affiliates to provide opportunities
for patients diagnosed with cancer or those at high risk for the disease to participate
in studies of cancer prevention, treatment, or palliative care. The WCI's
educational mission involves training programs in Hematology and Medical Oncology,
Radiation Oncology, Surgical Oncology, Pathology, Gynecologic Oncology, Oncology Nursing,
Oncology Social Work, and Pharmacology. Graduate degree programs with a strong cancer focus
include the Master's of Science in Clinical Research, interdisciplinary biomedical sciences,
Epidemiology, Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, and Health Policy and Management.
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