UNLV creates cancer institute

     By Sonya Padgett
     View staff writer
      UNLV took a first step toward joining the ranks of top-notch research institutions such as Cornell, Tuft and Chicago universities by bringing together a group of multidisciplinary scientists to form the UNLV Cancer Institute earlier this summer.
      The creation of the cancer institute, and eventually the Nevada Comprehensive Cancer Center, will do wonders for the university, the city and the public, said Stephen Rice, UNLV's Associate Provost for research.
      The institute has nine founding faculty members from three colleges: engineering, health sciences and science, with biochemist Stephen Carper as director. Each member is conducting research related in some way to cancer.
      "I noticed a group of us had an interest in cancer research," Carper said about why the institute was formed. "We realized if we became an official institute it would be more convenient to get funding for research."
      The hope is that this will put UNLV on the national map of elite universities conducting crucial cancer research, Rice said.
      "Hopefully, as we grow and mature, the institute will become nationally competitive for a (National Institute of Health) grant to create the comprehensive cancer center," Rice said. "This could mean a real step forward for cancer treatment."
      Members of the University of Nevada School of Medicine and UNLV are in the process of forming a partnership, so that one day lab and clinical research can be combined under a comprehensive cancer center dedicated not only to research, but also to treatment of cancer patients, Carper said.
      A center will give scientists from UNLV and doctors from the School of Medicine an opportunity to make substantial contributions to cancer research, Dr. Alex Little of the School of Medicine said.
      "They have some excellent, excellent scientists at UNLV," said Little, who is chairman of the School of Medicine's department of surgery. "When you bring together patients, the people who take care of them and the scientists, that's when things really start happening. That's when discoveries are made."
      Little said it's time for UNLV to grow beyond a small-college mentality to a mature university where the goal is not to just teach students but to make discoveries, Little said.
      "(The cancer institute) is a reflection that Southern Nevada is growing from a small community orientation to the higher aim of making contributions," Little said. "It's a question of civic pride. We're all aware of what our economy is based on, but we need to add to that. We have enough population, community and support to make this happen."
      A comprehensive cancer facility will eventually provide the level of care that many people have to leave town to get, Little said.
      "Right now someone is getting on a plane to go to a university just like ours to be treated for cancer," Little said.
      A cancer research center is important for Las Vegas because it's one of the fastest growing cities in the country, with an ever-expanding retirement population, Carper said.
      "People age 55 years and over have one of the highest rates of cancer," Carper said. "From my point of view biomedical research is very important for fighting cancer. That's why we have to get citizens interested in it and supporting the institute so we can go to the (state) Legislature and make them aware of our need for cancer research."
      If UNLV is known nationally for its research, that reputation may help bolster Las Vegas' future economy, Rice said, by attracting big businesses, such as bio-technology companies, to the valley. So far, city officials have been unsuccessful in convincing high-tech firms to move here.
      "Until you have a vehicle explaining what you're doing, those companies have no basis to think that Vegas is anything except the entertainment capital," Rice said.
      When the institute is ready to become a comprehensive center, Carper and the other members will have guidance from someone who is familiar with building a state-of-the-art institution.
      Dr. David Schapira, associate dean of the School of Medicine, was the director of Louisiana State University's Cancer Institute, one of the leading cancer research facilities in the world.
      Schapira is thrilled about the forming of the cancer institute and the partnership between the scientists and clinicians.
      "I think their basic science research will mix well with our clinical research," Schapira said. "I think the (institute) is very important for (Nevada) because cancer is an extremely common problem in the state."
      Nevada ranks in the top five states for the highest rates of cancer.
      The institute can only mean good things for the university as well as the city, Carper said.
      "It offers students who come here a chance to do research and interact with a real scientist," Carper said. "If we do a good job we might be able to help a lot of people."
      Benefits to the city and School of Medicine aside, the cancer institute had to be created to help UNLV develop a better academic reputation, Rice said.
      "If our faculty aren't known as experts in their field then we're not doing our job," Rice said.