Fall 2005 Newsletter:
Research: The Best Hope Against Cancer.

Joe G. N. Garcia, M.D.
Lowell T. Coggeshall Professor of Medicine
Chairman, Department of Medicine

We are living in extraordinary times. In the post-genome era the bridge between scientific discovery and the alleviation of human suffering has never been shorter. As Chairman of the Department of Medicine, my mission is to strengthen basic and translational research and discovery through interdisciplinary investigations that provide a greater understanding of the genetic basis of human disease and the mechanisms of complex pathologies. I strongly envision that the Department will emerge as the leader in newly found genomic knowledge and research in the years to come. The generous support from the Cancer Research Foundation for GI Oncology research will enhance the Department of Medicine's translational research mission by accelerating the rate at which the department's mission progresses.

The purpose of translational research is to bridge the gap between basic research and patient care by applying findings from the laboratory to clinical problems and, ultimately, to prolong and enhance life. In recognition of the enormous importance that genetic the Department is implementing a new mechanism by which every patient seen in our Department's outpatient clinics will have the opportunity to donate a blood sample for genetic analysis, should they choose to do so. Before long, we anticipate generating a vast collection that, with full protection of patient privacy, can be used to generate and test hypotheses regarding genetic predispositions to disease, gene-environment interactions, and genetic modifiers of disease. This extraordinary effort will almost certainly lead to the discovery of risks and preventive strategies in cancer that should benefit our own, and indeed all, patients with cancer and all complex diseases. Within the GI-Cancer program, research is being conducted that has already shown great promise for translating basic biomedical knowledge to new treatments. With the support of the Cancer Research Foundation, our highly skilled investigators will continue to investigate the cause and progression of cancer to open new paths for treatment.