Contact: Colleen Roche (212) 788-2958
The initiative is being developed by the Academic Medicine Development Company (AMDeC), a newly created consortium of 25 of New York's leading medical schools, academic medical centers and research institutions.
This extensive medical research study will greatly advance knowledge about the genetic and environmental causes of cancer, and is expected to lead to significantly improved diagnostic tools and treatment of the disease. When fully established, the Cancer Project will involve the participation of 300,000 healthy New Yorkers between the ages of 35 and 64 who will voluntarily contribute medical and lifestyle data for monitoring over a 20-year period. The goal of the New York Cancer Project is to create a multi-ethnic study that will examine the interaction between genetics, behavior, environment and other risk factors in the development of different cancers. New York City's ethnic and racial diversity will provide researchers with a unique opportunity to study individuals of many different backgrounds in the same environment.
"New York City has always been blessed with world-class medical institutions," said Mayor Giuliani. "And now for the first time, the City is providing seed money that will help launch a major cancer research project that will coordinate the unparalleled resources of New York City's medical community in the fight against cancer. Our medical centers understand that to be successful in competing for important research grants, especially from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)), cooperating on collaborative projects is essential.
"The City's investment in the New York Cancer Project will yield tremendous results not only in biomedical research, but in leveraging federal dollars, in bolstering the City's economy and in creating new jobs. Given Congress' inclination to increase budget funding for the National Institutes of Health over the next five years, and the fact that Congress has already increased the NIH budget by $2 billion this year, the Cancer Project could not be better timed. I would like to congratulate and thank all of the medical professionals for undertaking this critically important research project," the Mayor concluded.
The City is funding the initial phase of the Cancer Project, which will begin with the recruitment of 5,000 people over a two-year period during which the project's design will be tested. For both the initial phase and the full-scale Project, the diversity of New York City's population will provide researchers with an extraordinary body of data about genetic and environmental factors that cause various types of cancer and potentially other diseases as well, thereby making a significant contribution to medical research. The Project will also develop anti-cancer educational programs for professionals and the general public.
Hank Greenberg, Chairman and CEO of AIG, Inc. and Board Chairman of AMDeC expressed appreciation for the City's support. "The goals of the Cancer Project are ambitious and important," Mr. Greenberg said. "Fortunately, Mayor Giuliani understands the value of investing in medical research to make sure that New York maintains its competitive edge."
Over time, the total investment in the New York Cancer Project -- including funding from federal agencies, pharmaceutical companies, health-care investors and philanthropic agencies as well as in-kind resources provided by AMDeC partner institutions -- is expected to exceed $200 million. Furthermore, this investment has the potential to generate hundreds of jobs and important commercial spin-offs from findings and discoveries made during the life of the Project, bringing substantial additional funding and biomedical research activity to New York City.
"In addition to reinvigorating the City's biomedical research institutions, the New York Cancer project will yield significant medical research and public health benefits," added Arnold Levine, President of Rockefeller University and head of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the Project. "Cancer will soon overtake heart disease as the leading cause of death in America, and despite promising developments, much remains to be known about its causes and effective therapies. New Yorkers will benefit greatly from improved understanding of the prevention and treatment of cancer which this study will provide."
Dr. Maria K. Mitchell, President of AMDeC, said, "This unprecedented collaboration will pool the extraordinary talents and resources of a remarkable group of institutions to advance the New York region's leadership position in biomedical research. This exciting synergy of science, public health and economic development will benefit New York, the nation and the world."
A campaign to recruit New Yorkers for voluntary participation in the New York Cancer Project will begin in the Spring of 1999.
Among the New York-area academic medical and research institutions that will be involved in the study with AMDeC are:
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Albert Einstein College of Medicine Dominick Purpura, MD Dean Beth Israel Medical Center Matthew Fink M.D President & CEO Beth Israel Medical Center Marilyn Halper, M.P.H. Executive Director of Cancer Center Beth Israel Medical Center Bert Peterson, M.D. Surgical Oncologist with Specialty in Breast Disorders Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons Herbert Pardes, M.D. Dean, Faculty of Medicine Greater New York Hospital Association Kenneth Raske President Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Richard Rifkin, M.D. Chairman Mount Sinai Medical Center John W. Rowe, M.D. President Mount Sinai Medical Center William H. Redd, Ph.D. Professor, Associate Director |
The New York Hospital David Skinner, M.D President and CEO New York Medical College Msgr. Harry Barnett President and CEO The Presbyterian Hospital in the City of New York William T. Speck, M.D. President and CEO New York Medical College Ralph A. O'Connell Provost and Dean, School of Medicine New York Medical College Sheila M. Smythe Executive Vice President and Dean The New York Eye & Ear Infirmary Joseph P. Corcoran President and CEO North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System Thomas Degnan, M.D. Chairman, Department of Research North Shore - Long Island Jewish Health System Peter K. Gregersen, M.D. Chief, Biology and Human Genetics |