100+ years of groundbreaking research & advancement

From our founding in 1898, answering critical questions about cancer causes and treatments has been a core element of our mission at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. We’re an international epicenter for major advances in diagnosis and treatment. And our work never ends.

With funding from the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Center Support Grant (CCSG), Roswell Park makes new discoveries about cancer every day — how it grows, how to detect it, how to stop it.

And we do so much more. Developing new treatment standards. Training the next generation of scientists. Bringing new research into our communities and around the world.

Cancer research matters. We’re making a difference.

What does the “Comprehensive Cancer Center” designation mean?

NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center

Earning the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Comprehensive Cancer Center designation shows that Roswell Park’s combined research, treatment and educational programs have weathered extensive peer review, met rigorous national standards, and made fundamental contributions to reducing the cancer burden.

Roswell Park is among a select group designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the NCI and the only facility in upstate New York.

CCSG Shared Resources

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center operates nine Cancer Center Support Grant (CCSG) shared resources and eight institutionally supported shared resources. In consultation with the CCSG External Advisory Board, and each of the Shared Resource Advisory Committees (SRACs), the Shared Resource Management Office (SRMO) consolidated the services and leadership of 8 shared resources into 4 combined CCSG shared resources to strategically align better with the needs of our CCSG members.

The CCSG Research Mission is to provide exceptional service delivery within the shared resources to our members, facilitate the development of new shared resources and services, current good manufacturing practices (cGMP), community engagement, and software development, thereby enabling access to advanced research technologies and technical capabilities for all CCSG members.

  • Comparative Oncology Shared Resource (COSR)
  • Experimental Tumor Models (ETM)

Our research focus

Our four major research programs at Roswell Park have unique missions, themes, goals, and investigative mechanisms. Our success relies on multidisciplinary collaboration across nearly every field of oncology and our state-of-the-art laboratories and shared resources.

Bringing new research into our communities

The CCSG programs at Rowell Park also work closely with our experts in community outreach, health disparities and cancer prevention to develop and offer integrated community-based services and educational programs tailored to meet the needs of vulnerable populations.

Clinical Research Services

Clinical Research Services (CRS) is a department critical to the submission and implementation of research studies associated with Roswell Park Clinical, Translational, and Basic Science research programs. CRS staff work in collaboration with Roswell Park Investigators to provide oversight of the research process, the accrual of participants to research studies, and the collection of a complete and accurate study dataset.

Learn more

Training the next generation of scientists

In addition to our research and clinical trials, we’re also committed to training the next generation of basic and clinical scientists who will lead the way in tackling cancer.

Trainees in Roswell Park’s Master’s and PhD programs, along with our residents and clinical fellows, study closely with program members and participate in all phases of basic and translational research.

Scientist working with test tubes

Earlier Access to New, Promising Treatments

Our translational research model speeds the progress of promising ideas from one phase of research to the next, through clinical trials that accelerate new treatments from the lab to the patients who need them.

Dr. Nathaniel Ivanick works with the Interventional Pulmonology Team

Better Patient Outcomes

Three major studies found long-term survival rates improved 6% to 20% overall, and within specific cancer types, for patients treated from the start at NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers, compared to those treated in other settings.

Dr. Knudsen gives a presentation.

Sharing Our Knowledge

Roswell Park’s multidisciplinary teams share our knowledge of novel treatments, new ideas and inventive therapies with our fellow cancer experts locally and globally — every single day.

CCSG membership

Investigators applying for Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center membership must be salaried Roswell Park faculty members (professor, associate professor, assistant professor). Cancer Center members are typically aligned with only one Research Program. Program membership will be guided by the focus of an investigator’s grants and/or research interest and expertise. 

They meet at least one of the following criteria:

  • Has active, independent cancer-relevant peer-reviewed research funding or career development grant from an NCI-approved peer-reviewed funding organization
  • Serve as a project leader on a qualifying multi-project research grant (P01, P50/ SPORE, U54)
  • Serve as a clinical research leader having PI status on an interventional clinical trial or a peer-reviewed non-interventional trial
  • Serve as a shared resource director
  • Actively accrue patients to an investigator-initiated related clinical protocol.  In these cases, the investigator should demonstrate substantive independent contributions to the research project, or clinical trial accrual with an emphasis on investigator-initiated and/or therapeutic trials, this includes investigators accruing and/or leading IIT or NCI-supported clinical trial networks, such as the National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN), the Early Therapeutic Clinical Trials Network (ETCTN), etc.

Membership Benefits

  • Members will have opportunities to interact within and among each Research Program through monthly program meetings, seminars, PPG and SPORE Development groups and at the Annual Scientific Retreat
  • Member biosketches will be reviewed by the CCSG Administrative Office; this will help target young and established investigators for potential cancer-relevant grants and awards
  • All members have priority access to the shared resources, this includes preferential scheduling as well as reduced pricing on all CCSG sponsored shared resources
  • All members are eligible to apply for internal Roswell Park research and pilot project funding opportunities subject to the individual application guidelines

Questions about membership

For questions about membership, please contact CCSG Administrator, Judith Epstein, at Judith.Epstein@RoswellPark.org.

Contact us

Judith Epstein, MS, CRA
CCSG Administrator
Phone: 716-845-4158
Email: Judith.Epstein@RoswellPark.org

Dale Henry, MBA
Chief Scientific Operations Officer
Phone: 716-845-8224
Email: Dale.Henry@RoswellPark.org