The goal of the Center for Cancer Research and Therapeutic Development is to uncover the reasons that certain cancers disproportionately affect the African-American community. The center pursues this goal by:

• Providing opportunities and facilities for high-caliber research
• Training African-American scientists in appropriate research techniques
• Providing an educational environment for community outreach related to prevention, early detection and treatment

Since 2004, the center has focused its research and outreach on prostate cancer. The choice was prompted by the significantly higher incidence of and mortality from the disease among African-American men and by the unique expertise of the center’s faculty. The center is dedicated to becoming the leading research center in the country for research, education and community service related to prostate cancer and its impact on African-American men.

Worth noting: When compared to Caucasian men, African-American men have a 65% higher incidence of prostate cancer and a mortality rate that is almost double.

Institutions involved: Clark Atlanta University

Research focus: The center’s biomedical research projects range from studies of the ways in which cells receive signals and respond to them to the development of better drug delivery systems. In addition, the center is working to recruit social and behavioral scientists to explore the ethical, legal and social implications of biomedical research in general and of cancer research in particular.

GRA investment: The Center is led by GRA Eminent Scholar Shafiq Khan; GRA supports the center’s core laboratories. 

External funding: The center is supported by the Research Center in Minority Institutions (RCMI) program of the National Center for Research Resources of the National Institutes of Health.

Web site: http://www.ccrtd.cau.edu/