UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center

UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center

The UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center is a cancer research and treatment center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. One of 45 National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the United States,[1] its clinical base is the N.C. Cancer Hospital, part of the UNC Health Care system. UNC Lineberger is the only public comprehensive cancer center in the state of North Carolina. The current director is Dr. H. Shelton Earp, III who succeeded current NCI director Dr. Norman Sharpless

History and name

UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center was established in 1975 with Joseph S. Pagano, Professor of Medicine and Microbiology at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, as its founding director.

It was named after the Lineberger family of Belmont, North Carolina, whose Lineberger Foundation provided the core funding for the center's first dedicated research and administrative building, completed in 1984.[2]

The cancer center was previously led by Director Dr. Norman "Ned" Sharpless, who was appointed to the role in 2014. Dr. Sharpless, an expert in molecular therapeutics, attended the University of North Carolina as both an undergraduate, receiving the Morehead-Cain Scholarship, and as a medical student. In 2017, he was nominated and confirmed as the director of the National Cancer Institute while Dr. H. Shelton Earp, III succeeded Dr. Sharpless as director of the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center on an interim basis which was elevated to permanent status in 2018.

The center's clinical base, the N.C. Cancer Hospital, was completed in 2009. In the summer of 2007, the North Carolina General Assembly established the University Cancer Research Fund (UCRF) to support cancer research at UNC Lineberger and the North Carolina Cancer Hospital with annual funding of $50 million.[3]

Members and research

UNC Lineberger's members come from over 40 departments at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, including UNC-Chapel Hill's School of Medicine, School of Nursing, School of Dentistry, the Gillings School of Global Public Health, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, and the College of Arts and Sciences. The Center has nine formal scientific programs: Cancer Cell Biology, Immunology, Molecular Therapeutics, Virology, Cancer Genetics, Clinical Research, Cancer Prevention and Control, and Cancer Epidemiology. In 2006, its members held over $170 million in annual research and training grants, including $48 million in NCI funding.[4]

Notable members

References

  1. ↑ National Cancer Institute. Cancer Centers List
  2. ↑ Ellen de Graffenreid (February 2011). The Lineberger Name. UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
  3. ↑ WITN (August 16, 2007). "Lawmakers Commit $50 Million To Build Leading Cancer Center"
  4. ↑ National Cancer Institute. "Cancer Center Profile: University of North Carolina (UNC) Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center". NCI Cancer Bulletin, June 20, 2006 , Volume 3, Number 25

Coordinates: 35°54′11″N 79°03′12″W / 35.903°N 79.0534°W / 35.903; -79.0534

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