New York Genome Center Announces Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center as Associate Member

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Collaborating to further the mission of advancing targeted therapies for cancer and other diseases.

New York, NY, April 23, 2013 – The New York Genome Center (NYGC) and Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center today announced that Roswell Park, a nationally-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, NY, is joining the organization as an Associate Member. This unique collaboration is designed to accelerate the clinical applications for genome sequencing in oncology.

“We are thrilled by Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center’s decision to join the NYGC collaboration,” said Robert B. Darnell, President and Scientific Director of NYGC. “Its unique, specialized focus on cancer research, prevention and treatment will contribute significantly toward our knowledge of disease, furthering our mission of achieving personalized medicine.”

Roswell Park, founded by Dr. Roswell Park in 1898, is America’s first cancer center and is one of only three existing institutions in New York State to hold the National Cancer Institute’s “comprehensive cancer center” designation. As one of the few freestanding comprehensive cancer centers in the US, Roswell Park has sustained its role as a national and international leader in cancer research, clinical care and education, establishing an exemplary reputation based on the combined strength of its basic and translational research, educational programs, and multidisciplinary and compassionate patient care. It also brings additional resources such as its Genomics Shared Resource, a Pathology Resource Network, Bioinformatics Shared Resource, and Data Bank and BioRepository (DBBR).

“The bio banking facility at Roswell Park will be a tremendous resource to learn about genetic origins and new treatments for cancer patients, and it will expand the possibilities for important large-scale cancer genomic studies conducted at NYGC and with our collaborating members institutions,” Darnell said.

The resources Roswell Park brings include the Institute’s priority to understand cancer health disparities within its geographic target and develop appropriate research initiatives around the needs of those populations.

“We are enthusiastic about the potential this collaboration brings to our cancer research capabilities and what it will mean for future treatment options,” said Donald Trump, MD, President and CEO of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. “This partnership enhances our opportunities to extend collaborations with our colleagues throughout New York, including the New York City cancer centers, thus allowing us to bring the latest discoveries in genome science to our work to understand, prevent and cure cancer and other diseases.”

In December 2012, NYGC received $1.5 million from New York State as part of the Regional Economic Development Council Initiative (RDC) to assist with construction of its new 170,000 sf facility in Manhattan and to ramp up its staffing in the critical areas of bioinformatics, sequencing, and research computing; and in April 2012, Roswell Park received $5.1 million from the New York State Economic Development Council to extend its genomic capabilities.

“Both NYGC and Roswell Park have already leveraged their respective investments from the state’s RDC to forge stronger collaborations between institutions across New York State, enhancing the impact of these investments throughout New York,” Darnell said. “This partnership will spur development of exciting new research opportunities and clinical breakthroughs that will lead to improvements in the health of all New Yorkers.”

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About Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center

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.

About the New York Genome Center

Founded in August 2010, the New York Genome Center (NYGC) is an independent, non-profit organization that leverages the collaborative resources of leading academic medical centers, research universities, and commercial organizations. Our vision is to transform medical research and clinical care in New York and beyond through the creation of one of the largest genomics research facilities in North America, while integrating sequencing, bioinformatics, data management, and cutting-edge genomics research.

NYGC launched its Integrated Genomic Solutions in 2012, providing a consultative approach to sequencing, bioinformatics, data management, and computation for both large- and small-scale research projects at its Institutional Founding Members and select other collaborators. While NYGC continues to grow its services and collaborations in 2013, it is already making meaningful contributions in advancing genomic science research and patient care. NYGC’s pilot operations and capabilities will expand rapidly in mid-2013, when it opens its permanent headquarters at 101 Avenue of the Americas, a state-of-the-art 170,000-sqft facility that will allow NYGC to facilitate genomics research with collaborative work space available to researchers from around the world.

NYGC’s twelve Institutional Founding Members include: Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Columbia University, Cornell University/Weill Cornell Medical College, The Jackson Laboratory, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, New York University/NYU School of Medicine, North Shore-LIJ Health System, The Rockefeller University, and Stony Brook University.

To date, NYGC has raised over $110 million in funds from its Institutional Founding Members, from philanthropies such as the Simons Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and Bloomberg Philanthropies, and from other strategic relationships, including the New York City Economic Development Corporation and the Partnership Fund for New York City.

Website: www.nygenome.org

Facebook: www.facebook.com/nygenome

Twitter: @nygenome

Media Contacts:

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center

Tara Yates

Ph: 716-845-5747

Email: tara.yates@roswellpark.org

New York Genome Center

H. Zane B. Wruble

Ph: 888-415-6942 x202

Email: zwruble@nygenome.org