UToledo to Inaugurate Northwest Ohio Cancer Research Institute on March 3

UToledo to Inaugurate Northwest Ohio Cancer Research Institute on March 3

The University of Toledo will celebrate the launch of the Northwest Ohio Cancer Research Institute with an inauguration ceremony on Tuesday, March 3.

Elected officials, University administrators and institute members will present a brief program at 4 p.m. in the Health Education Building Room 110 on UToledo's Health Science Campus. Faculty, staff and students are invited to attend.

The Northwest Ohio Cancer Research Institute aims to advance the detection, diagnosis and treatment of cancer by facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration among clinicians and researchers at UToledo as well as partners including ProMedica.

More than 60 experts have been identified for inaugural membership, including more than 50 UToledo faculty whose active cancer research is supported by nearly $13 million in grants from federal agencies like the National Institutes of Health.

Members will collaborate through working groups established to specialize in breast, pancreatic and prostate cancer. They will also benefit from shared resources including service cores designed to support high-impact cancer research and to translate laboratory discoveries into patient-centered care innovations.

Dr. Jian-Ting Zhang is the director of the Northwest Ohio Cancer Research Institute.

"Cancer is one of the most pressing public health challenges in Ohio and across the United States, with Lucas County specifically ranking 29th in the rate of cancer deaths out of 88 counties in Ohio," said Zhang, who is also a cancer researcher and a professor in UToledo's College of Medicine and Life Sciences. "We aim to reduce this burden by uniting the strengths of UToledo and our partners in the Northwest Ohio Cancer Research Institute."

UToledo announced the Northwest Ohio Cancer Research Institute in December.