The Cancer Center is a multidisciplinary Center of Excellence in basic and clinical research, which draws expertise from virtually every department within LSU’s Schools of Medicine, Public Health, Nursing and Dentistry.  The Center’s mission is to conduct research in cancer prevention, early detection, and treatment.  Its faculty includes specialists conducting cutting edge investigations in cancer epidemiology (population sciences), immunology, genetics, and molecular signaling (cancer cell biology).  Clinical care for cancer patients, including research clinical trials, is accomplished by the Center through strategic partnerships with community oncologists and area hospitals to deliver state-of-the art treatment by specialized teams of clinicians.

Funding for the Center’s research activities has consistently risen over the years, with faculty members holding over $18 million in private and federal support from that National Cancer Institute, the National Institutes of Health and multiple foundations.  Of particular significance are:

• Minority Based Community Clinical Oncology Program (MB-CCOP), funded by the National Cancer Institute, which provides patients access to cancer prevention and treatment clinical trials being conducted at multiple centers in the United States

• Center for Biomedical and Research Excellence (COBRE), funded by the National Institutes of Health, that mentors young clinical investigators to develop new treatments based on laboratory observation (translational research)