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Working to advance cancer research in the region, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Orlando’s Cancer Research Institute (CRI) will move to the University of Central Florida’s (UCF) new Health Sciences Campus in Lake Nona’s “medical city.”

M.D. Anderson’s agreement with UCF, announced in December, provides 30,000 square feet of space for The CRI on the fifth floor of the new UCF Burnett Biomedical Sciences Building, which is scheduled for completion in 2009. The CRI will pay the university $2.5 million to occupy the building for up to five years while M. D. Anderson–Orlando builds its own research facility, which will also be located on UCF grounds.

“This partnership will be a great asset to our university, and it will help to improve the quality of healthcare in Central Florida,” said Terry Hickey, provost and executive vice president of UCF. “This (move) represents another step in transforming Orlando into a premier cancer and medical research city.”
Leaders at UCF and The CRI anticipate developing many research collaborations and, when possible, sharing in the use of core support facilities. Many M.D. Anderson–Orlando researchers will also have appointments to the UCF College of Medicine faculty and will mentor UCF students seeking to continue their research in Central Florida.

“Our agreement expands resources for cutting-edge cancer research while also providing students the opportunity for hands-on research learning,” said Hickey.
Cheryl Baker, PhD, director of The CRI, estimates the team of 12 researchers could triple with the added space and resources.

“This is a big step for the community because the more we invest in research, the sooner we can bring new treatments to cancer patients in Central Florida and across the world,” she pointed out.

The CRI uses basic and translational research to develop new therapies for pancreatic, kidney, head and neck, lung, breast and brain cancers. Discoveries made there could translate into more Phase I clinical trials for patients in Central Florida, clinical trials that represent the first step toward Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approval, which can often take years.

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Orlando, part of Orlando Regional Healthcare, is affiliated with the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, which U.S. News & World Report ranks the top cancer treatment center in the United States. Orlando Regional, a 1,780-bed community-owned, not-for-profit organization established in 1918, annually serves more than 540,000 Central Florida residents and nearly 3,000 international patients.

The UCF College of Medicine was established in 2006 to increase opportunities for medical education in Florida, address the growing physician shortage nationwide, and provide economic benefits to Central Florida and the state through research and technology. The college will offer a doctor of medicine (MD) degree program beginning next fall, pending preliminary accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education. The college expects to enroll an initial class of 40 students and eventually produce about 120 medical graduates annually.

The CRI and UCF, which broke ground for the new College of Medicine at Lake Nona last fall and is also transplanting its Burnett Biomedical Sciences building from the current UCF campus, are two of many premier healthcare-related organizations on board to create a new “medical city” along the shores of Lake Nona, located near the Orlando International Airport.

In December, The Nemours Foundation announced plans to purchase land for a $400 million children’s hospital at Lake Nona. The Veterans Administration has already announced plans for a new VA hospital there. The Burham Institute for Medical Research, a lifesciences study center based in California, will build its East Coast division in the same area.



February 2008

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