Located near downtown Buffalo, Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) was the first center devoted exclusively to cancer research and treatment and today is one of only 41 NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the U.S. In 2006, RPCI had over 2,700 employees, including over 200 Ph.D. faculty.  The Pharmacology Graduate program is currently located in the six-story Grace Cancer Drug Center centrally located on the RPCI campus and houses a wide variety of research programs using state-of-the-art technology and instrumentation. In 2008, much of the Program will relocate to the 4th floor of the state-of-the-art Buffalo Life Sciences Center (BLSC) on the South side of the RPCI campus. The BLSC houses modern laboratory space with open labs, to encourage collaboration, as well as dedicated adjacent laboratory procedure rooms, modern conference rooms, common eating areas, and offices. The BLSC is located adjacent to the University at Buffalo Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics, and the Hauptman Woodward Structural Biology Research Institute.   Within RPCI, additional academic research programs exist: molecular and cellular biology, genetics, immunology, cell stress biology, pathology, biophysics, and physiology. Taken together, this unique mix of expertise provides a fertile academic research environment.

In 2005-2006, RPCI had 23,435 active patients; 7,208 new patients; and 2,469 cancers accessioned to the Tumor Registry. The primary catchment area is the Buffalo/Niagara metropolitan area (72%); the secondary catchment area includes six counties of Western New York (17%); and the tertiary catchment area, includes the rest of New York State, 36 other states and 8 foreign countries (11%). Annually, hospital admissions average 4,400 and outpatient visits number 153,000, providing ample opportunities for clinical and translational research. The RPCI campus also maintains a sizable modern medical library and computer center. Departmental and institutional seminar series feature world-renowned internationally acclaimed scientists and clinicians, and exposes students to new developments in cancer research and treatment.