Another important factor contributing to growth in research is the expansion of new facilities. In 2003, we opened our first new research building on the South Campus, the Center for Cancer Immunology Research, and recruited Dr. Yong-Jun Liu to head this center and the Department of Immunology. This facility represents a new approach for facilitating translational science in that it houses research activities of the Department of Immunology, Department of Melanoma Medical Oncology (led by Dr. Patrick Hwu), Department of Lymphoma and Myeloma (led by Dr. Larry Kwak), and Section of Transplantation Immunology in the Department of Blood and Marrow Transplantation (led by Dr. Jeff Molldrem). The space uses an open laboratory design supported by shared core facilities. The second new South Campus building is currently opening and will house the departments of Molecular Therapeutics, Molecular Pathology, and Clinical Cancer Prevention and the Gastrointestinal Program, which includes Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, Gastroenterology, Gastrointestinal Pathology, and the pancreatic cancer research program, which is headed by Dr. Craig Logsdon. This facility will form the nucleus of our Kleberg Center for Molecular Diagnostics, which is headed by Drs. Gordon Mills and Stanley Hamilton. Two additional research buildings on the South Campus are in the planning stages. These will house the Center for Advanced Biomedical Imaging Research directed by Dr. Juri Gelovani, the recently recruited Chair of Experimental Diagnostic Imaging, and the Center for Targeted Therapy headed by Dr. Garth Powis, the new Chair of the Department of Experimental Therapeutics.

These four centers are joined by the Proton and Metastasis Centers to form the new Red & Charline McCombs Institute for the early detection and treatment of cancer. With a projected cost of $500 million, $100 million of which will be raised through private philanthropy, the McCombs Institute is the most aggressive expansion of research in M. D. Anderson history. In 2005, the George and Cynthia Mitchell Basic Science Research Building opened; it houses the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Department of Molecular Genetics, the laboratory component of the Department of Epidemiology, and the Brain Tumor Program, which comprises the departments of Neurosurgery and Neurooncology and the Section of Neuropathology. Our program in Structural Biology is also expanding into the facility under the direction of Dr. Richard Brennan. The classrooms and administrative office of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences are also housed in this facility as well as the Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery's small animal vivarium and Small Animal Imaging Laboratory. The opening of the Ambulatory Clinic Building and Cancer Prevention Building in 2005 has expanded our capability of conducting clinical and translational research as well as provided a new home for our cancer screening and research efforts in cancer prevention.

The opening of new facilities has permitted the reutilization of some of the vacated laboratory space to expand activities in translational research in pediatric cancers, anesthesiology, and head and neck cancers under the leadership of Dr. Randal Weber. A new Department of Health Disparities Research was formed in the Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences to address the disparities in cancer outcomes in underserved populations; Dr. David Wetter was appointed to lead this effort.

Although some of the expansion of research programs is the result of recruitment of new department chairs, particularly in clinical departments, much of it is the product of a strategic planning activity that took place in the recent past. Participants included the executive leadership of the institution, the Research Strategies Advisory Committee, the Clinical Strategies Advisory Committee, and the Chair of the Faculty Senate. Discussions regarding research focused on where we needed to invest to have the greatest impact on cancer in the future. Out of these discussions came 7 emerging research themes, which have provided our road map for major investment in research programs. They are as follows:

1. Identification of molecular and genetic markers that enable early detection of cancer in an individual and predict response to treatment.

2. Development of new therapies to target genes that cause cancer and the molecular pathways that promote proliferation, survival, and metastasis of cancer cells.

3. Improvement in our understanding of the critical role of surrounding normal tissues in promoting cancer growth and angiogenesis.

4. Creation of new immunological approaches to the treatment of cancer and characterization of the cells, antibodies, and cytokines involved.

5. Elucidation of the molecular mechanisms regulating the functions of stem cells and the differentiation of cells through stages of maturation.

6. Identification of genetic, environmental, and lifestyle risk factors for cancer and investigation of both therapeutic agents and behavioral modifications that can prevent cancer or reverse precancerous conditions.

7. Continuation of our research efforts on cancer in each of the major organ sites, and exploration of new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to specific cancers.