Science
SALK’S CONQUERING
CANCER INITIATIVE
J
onas Salk used basic
science to rid the world
of polio and alter the
course of the 20th
century. His vision
was bold and his research daring,
and it changed the lives of untold
millions. Now, the Salk Institute has
launched a similarly bold approach
to take aim at five of the deadliest
cancers. The Conquering Cancer
Initiative is a roadmap to the future
of cancer care and will empower
Salk’s world-renowned research
team to transform cancer therapy.
Virtually no life is untouched by
cancer. One in two men and
one in three women will be
diagnosed with cancer at some
point in their lives. Worldwide,
cancer rates are expected to
increase by as much as 75 percent
by 2030. Current therapies remain
insufficient to address the threat.
The Salk Institute believes that
cancer research is at an inflection
point requiring determination and
collaboration among scientists
90 GBSAN.COM | DECEMBER 2018
Vice President Joe Biden at the
Conquering Cancer Initiative
to speed up progress, expedite
personalized medicine and
discover new treatments.
By focusing on some of the
hardest cancers to treat, Salk’s
scientists can unlock foundational
knowledge and develop powerful
tools to help treat all cancers.
Taking on five of the deadliest cancers
The Conquering Cancer Initiative is harnessing specific and emerging scientific strategies to tackle
five of the deadliest cancers: pancreatic, ovarian, lung, brain (glioblastoma) and triple-negative
breast cancer. By focusing on the hardest cancers to treat, Salk scientists will unlock foundational
knowledge that is applicable to all cancers.
To do this, Salk researchers combine foundational biological research with advanced biomedical
technologies to overcome hard-to-kill tumors. The goal is to attack multiple cancer vulnerabilities
at the same time, destroying tumors before drug resistance can emerge. The knowledge and
therapeutic approaches that emerge from these efforts will provide a powerful set of tools to treat
a broad array of cancers, hopefully making current generations the last to see cancer as anything
other than a chronic illness.
Where science happens: the Salk Cancer Center
The Cancer Center at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, led by Reuben Shaw, PhD,
comprises more than half the research at the Salk Institute. It was established in 1970 and, two
years later, the Cancer Center became one of the first National Cancer Institute-designated
basic research cancer centers in the United States. For more than 45 years, this designation has
recognized the Institute’s scientific rigor across its laboratory research, scientific discoveries and
therapeutic cures.
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