Indeed, it is a thrilling time to be part of the University of Florida, which is now ranked among the nation’s top five best public universities and exceeded $1 billion in research spending for the first time. We are looking forward to exciting opportunities in the artificial intelligence, or AI, space through the university’s partnership with NVIDIA, as well as new partnerships with Scripps Research and regional hospitals in The Villages and Leesburg.

The Cancer Center currently has more than 300 members representing 11 colleges and 62 departments, a strong testament to our unique approach to harness the resources of the entire university to tackle cancer. Our peer-reviewed funding has increased by $6 million since we last applied for NCI designation. It is now over $30 million per year, with a high rate of 42% from the NCI. Our total funding, including industry sponsorship of research and clinical trials, is approaching $40 million per year.

We made several key leadership appointments this year. Notably, we recruited Merry Jennifer Markham, M.D., FACP, FASCO, chief of the division of hematology and oncology in the College of Medicine and associate director for medical affairs at the Cancer Center. Duane Mitchell, M.D., Ph.D., moved from research program leader to associate director for translation and innovation, furthering our collaborations with the Clinical and Translational Science Institute. Dr. Mitchell’s team can now conduct its vital work in a new, world-class neuro-oncology laboratory at UF’s Basic Science Building, thanks to a generous gift from The Harris Rosen Foundation. Additionally, Elias Sayour, M.D., Ph.D., who is creating innovative RNA nanoparticle vaccines for tumor immunization, assumed the role of co-leader of the Cancer Therapeutics and Host Response research program.

I am also delighted that we appointed Luisel J. Ricks-Santi, Ph.D., to an important new role as associate director for diversity, equity and inclusion. The UF Health Cancer Center is dedicated to creating a culture of inclusion and diversity, and we have several initiatives underway to meet these goals, including partnerships with historically black universities.

The UF Health Cancer Center Clinical Research Office currently manages more than 250 clinical trials, and we have continued to improve in this area despite the challenges posed by COVID-19. Important clinical achievements include receiving approval from the Food and Drug Administration to test a novel CAR-modified T-cell technique in a first-in-human clinical trial for participants with primary glioblastoma and launching new technologies and therapies at UF Health Radiation Oncology that allow us to provide the most advanced cancer treatments to our patients.

Some of our achievements that address the catchment area burden of cancer include participation and leadership in the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research and the development of BCL-XL degraders, a protooncogene developed by Daohong Zhou, M.D., that is not just inhibited by the drug but actually degraded and eliminated from the cancer cell, stopping tumor growth.

This year, we expanded our outreach efforts. We held several well-attended community events to raise awareness of cervical cancer, hosted conversations with the East Gainesville community, educated our community on sun safety and held a symposium on breast cancer, among many other initiatives. Our training and education efforts continue to be top notch, thanks to the direction of Dietmar Siemann, Ph.D., who successfully applied for and received the only team-based interdisciplinary training program in the NCI portfolio.

I am also pleased to report that we successfully submitted our second Cancer Center Support Grant application in May, which was a monumental achievement led by Robert Houlihan, D.H.A., M.B.A., FACHE, associate director for administration. We have much to look forward to, including expanding to new space in Malachowsky Hall, which is set to break ground in 2023 and will house our Cancer Control and Population Sciences research program.

In summary, there has been great progress in the development of cancer research programs at the University of Florida Health Cancer Center. These accomplishments and more are all made possible by our Cancer Center members and family — the UF and UF Health faculty, staff, students, health professionals and administrators — dedicated to preventing, detecting, treating and ultimately curing cancer.

Sincerely,