Research Programs

University of Kansas Cancer Center members are gaining critical insight into the origins of cancer, allowing them to translate their discoveries into the clinic where patients can gain access to emerging therapies through our clinical trials program. To facilitate this process, the KUCC's Kansas Masonic Cancer Research Institute manages three established and two developing cancer research programs.

Cancer Control & Population Health Research Program
Program Leaders: Edward Ellerbeck, MD, MPH and Kim Engelman, PhD

The Cancer Control and Population Sciences Program partners with healthcare providers and government agencies throughout Kansas to implement prevention and screening programs including: smoking cessation, mammography utilization, prostate and colorectal cancer screening.  Other educational programs in development address nutrition, diet, physical activity and obesity behaviors that are directly linked to cancer and mortality. 

Faculty members work with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to conduct statewide research assessments of the relationships among environmental factors, obesity prevalence, and the dietary and physical activity patterns of school-aged children.  The program utilizes data regarding obesity counseling among rural Kansas doctors to develop communication tools aimed at getting doctors to talk about the risks of obesity during routine checkups with overweight and adolescent patients, and to help them develop healthier habits.  A similar program will target under-served patients living in urban Kansas City, Kansas.  

Cancer Prevention & Survivorship Research Program
Program Leader: Carol Fabian, MD, Brian Petroff, DVM, Ph.D.

KU researchers and clinicians look at prevention approaches from the lab, to the potential patient, and finally to the survivor.  Breast cancer prevention research at the University of Kansas Cancer Center is acknowledged as one of the most innovative models in the nation for determining which women are at high risk for developing breast cancer.  These research studies are designed to intervene before cancer develops by conducting regular examinations of at-risk  patients over time.  Researchers identify changes in the breast tissue’s molecular makeup and cellular appearance through minimally invasive breast tissue sampling.  Women with precancerous changes are provided appropriate monitoring and/or treatment that may include access to prevention drug trials.  Using the models developed for breast cancer research, faculty in this program are taking the model developed for breast cancer to study risk assessment, prevention, and control in other cancer sites.

Drug Discovery and Experimental Therapeutics Program
Program Leaders: Scott Weir, PharmD, PhD and Valentino Stella, PhD

The National Cancer Institute has made the optimization of  discovery, development and the delivery of highly effective targeted drugs and technologies a high priority.  Leveraging regional resources, the University of Kansas’s goal is to become the number one academic generator of novel and re-formulated anti-cancer agents, placing us in line with the NCI’s priorities.  This is the primary focus of the Drug Discovery and Experimental Therapeutics (DDET) Program. 

Drug delivery studies are centered on how chemotherapy may be administered to destroy cancerous cells that remain in the body after surgery, control tumor growth, or relieve symptoms of the disease.  Methods of delivering drugs directly into cancerous sites through a catheter allow most of the drug to remain in the area of the tumor instead of circulating throughout the body.  Such highly effective treatment methods can only be developed through intensive research into the biology of cancer cells and extensive experimentation with substances that are known to inhibit cancer’s ability to replicate. 

By bridging basic and clinical research, the Drug Discovery and Experimental Therapeutics program develops new medications and reformulates existing medications to destroy cancer cells.  DDET researchers are focusing on delivering cancer treatment on the cellular level so physicians can avoid many of the side effects of cancer treatment and specifically target disruption of cancer growth. 

Metabolic & Inflammatory Risk Factors Research Program
Program Leader: Yvonne Wan, PhD

The Metabolic and Inflammatory Risk Factors for Cancer Program is under development.

Transcriptional & Chromosomal Regulation Research Program
Program Leaders: Roy Jensen, MD and Jerry Workman, PhD

The Transcriptional and Chromosomal Regulation Program will focus on the understanding of the basic mechanisms for cellular regulation and genomic integrity and how these processes are altered when cancer develops.  This is an emerging program that is being further developed.