Senator Gillibrand Meets with Entrepreneur Researchers from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center

BUFFALO, NY — Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand visited Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center July 6, touring its Microarray and Genomics Core Laboratory and hearing from researchers who have created spinoff companies that are contributing to the Western New York economy.

“I just want to commend you for the extraordinary work and commitment that you’ve made not only to curing cancer but to working in Buffalo,” Sen. Gillibrand told the Roswell Park entrepreneurs. “It makes an enormous difference for our local communities and for New York State.”

Sen. Gillibrand met with Roswell Park administrators and researchers including Donald L. Trump, MD, FACP, President and CEO; Candace Johnson, PhD, Deputy Director; and Irwin Gelman, PhD, Chair, Department of Genetics; as well as several members of the Roswell Park Board of Directors.

Taking part in the discussion on technology entrepreneurship and business development were:

• William Cance, MD, FACS, Surgeon-in-Chief and Chair of the Department of Surgical Oncology at Roswell Park and founder and Chief Scientific Officer of CureFAKtor Pharmaceuticals, LLC
• Khurshid Guru, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Urology, and Director of the Roswell Park Center for Robotic Surgery as well as Chief Medical Officer of Simulated Surgical Systems
• Andrei V. Gudkov, PhD, DSci, Senior Vice President of Basic Science and Garman Family Chair of Cell Stress Biology at Roswell Park and Chief Scientific Officer of Cleveland BioLabs, Inc.
• Gary J. Smith, PhD, Co-Leader of the Prostate Program and Distinguished Professor of Oncology at Roswell Park and Chief Scientific Officer of AndroBioSys, Inc.

The mission of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is to understand, prevent and cure cancer. Roswell Park, founded in 1898, was one of the first cancer centers in the country to be named a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and remains the only facility with this designation in Upstate New York. The Institute is a member of the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation’s leading cancer centers; maintains affiliate sites; and is a partner in national and international collaborative programs. For more information, visit Roswell Park’s website at http://www.roswellpark.org, call 1-800-ROSWELL (1-800-767-9355) or email AskRoswell@Roswellpark.org.

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