The Stanford Cancer Institute has been celebrating its 20th anniversary at various 2024 events. Among other events, this milestone year was commemorated at the annual Stanford Cancer Institute Retreat that unites faculty, postgraduates, and students for a day of learning and connection and at a celebratory staff town hall that looked back at the institute’s achievements and evolution as well as gifted branded mugs and delicious treats to attendees to mark the occasion.
The institute was founded in 2004 to advance the understanding of cancer through a multidisciplinary, integrated, and collaborative community of physicians and scientists. Its founding builds on Stanford’s history of cancer innovations that began in 1956 when Henry Kaplan, MD, pioneered the first application of the linear accelerator for radiation oncology, a landmark achievement made possible by interdisciplinary collaboration.
In 2007, the Stanford Cancer Institute received its initial National Cancer Institute Cancer Center designation. This designation was elevated to a National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center designation in 2016, which was renewed in 2022.
Irving Weissman, MD, served as the first director, and Beverly Mitchell, MD, was appointed director in 2008. The institute’s current director is Steven Artandi, MD, PhD, who began his tenure in 2018.
Some of the Stanford Cancer Institute highlights of the past 20 years include:
The Breakthroughs in Cancer seminar series brings national cancer leaders to Stanford’s campus to speak on their area of expertise. The seminars were attended by 1,300 people over its first year.
The SCI Clinical Trials Office provides regulatory, administrative, research support, budget, and educational services to Stanford Cancer Institute investigators conducting cancer clinical trials.
The SCI Office of Cancer Health Equity works to develop and sustain bidirectional community partnerships, increase the representation of minorities in clinical trials, and translate research into practices and policies. An example of their work is the annual SCI Breast Cancer & African Americans conference that brings breast cancer resources and information to the local community during a fun, interactive one-day event.
The Comprehensive Cancer Research Training Program invites learners to participate in current cancer research lectures and discussions by eminent Stanford faculty members.
The SCI Innovation Awards fund Stanford cancer projects that hold significant promise in innovating cancer science and treatment.
The SCI Fellowship Awards support early-career Stanford cancer researchers.
The SCI has established research programs, such as the Population Sciences research program, Stanford Advanced Melanoma Program, and a major cancer drug discovery initiative.
With everything the Stanford Cancer Institute does, there is the understanding that cancer is a multifaceted problem that requires forward-thinking and collaboration across all disciplines to develop the most effective treatments and safely bring them to the clinic setting.
Stanford Cancer Institute director Steven Artandi said, “In biomedicine, we’re faced all the time with intractable problems, and cancer is one of these problems that is very difficult to solve. Often, these problems are solved by thinking about problems from a completely different perspective, and that’s the kind of attitude and approaches that we foster at Stanford.”
We look forward to many more years of innovations in cancer research and treatment!
Highlights of the Stanford Cancer Institute’s 20-year History
