General Overview of the Center

The Albert Einstein Cancer Center (AECC) was among the first cancer centers on medical school campuses to be funded by the National Cancer Institute in 1972 following passage of the National Cancer Act the previous year. AECC has had continuous center funding by the National Cancer Institute since that time.

The goal of AECC is to foster basic, clinical, population-based and translational research that addresses all aspects of the cancer problem.  AECC members are involved in cancer-relevant research or collaborative projects with other members whose work has a cancer focus. All AECC members are supported through approved national peer-reviewed funding mechanisms.  There are currently 115 AECC members who represent eight basic science and six clinical departments.

AECC investigators are assigned to one of seven interdisciplinary research programs: (1) Immuno-oncology – encompassing basic immunology with a focus on antigen-presentation and antibody diversity; tumor immunology, and regulation of immune cell replication and transformation. (2) Tumor Microenvironment and Metastasis - consists of a broad range of studies on signal transduction with a major focus on pathways that result in activation of the actin cytoskeleton and cell motility and the role of tumor cell motility in tumor invasion and metastasis. (3) Cell Growth and Differentiation - components of this program address cell cycle regulation, stem cell biology, lineage commitment and regulation of gene transcription with a focus on the biology of hematopoietic malignancies. (4) Membrane Molecular Biology investigators study a variety of membrane transporters, biology of the caveolae, trafficking, and surface glycoproteins and other molecules; (5) Experimental Therapeutics encompasses structure-based drug design and development and Phase I through III clinical trials. Studies explore the biochemical and molecular pharmacololgy of DNA damaging agents, taxanes and related microtubule-active agents, and antifolates. There is a focus on mechanisms of tumor cell resistance to antineoplastics and radiation. This program is home to multidisciplinary groups that study Lung and Aerodigestive Tumors and Breast Cancer. (6) Cancer Epidemiology – this program focuses on human papilloma virus from basic molecular characterization to epidemiological studies. There are new programs on the epidemiology of breast cancer with an emphasis on those factors associated with the progression of benign proliferative, to malignant disease.  Another component is directed to the role of IGF in the development of solid tumors. This program is the research base for the Women's Health Initiative in New York City and many of the funded studies utilize tissues and epidemiological data from that cohort. (7) Colon Cancer encompasses studies that range from the biology of colorectal cancer to mouse models of these cancers, chemoprevention, and molecular characterization of human tumors (DNA Microarray, in situ hybridization) correlated with response to treatment, and the genetics of colon cancer with a focus on African-Americans.

AECC sponsors core laboratory facilities that support basic and clinical research. There are facilities for the development of Transgenic and Gene-targeted mice along with a Barrier facility to house these animals.  There is a Hybridoma facility for the development of monoclonal antibodies and a Proteomics facility for peptide sequencing and synthesis and mass spectroscopy.  Another facility provides DNA Sequencing services now using capillary electrophoresis technology. Structural Biology encompasses xray crystallography, NMR, and the operations of four Einstein Synchrotron beams at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. There is a Mouse Histopathology and Histotechnology facility, a DNA Microarray facility that prints, reads, and analyzes cDNA chips and an Affymetrix facility. AECC operates a Biostatistics core and a developing Bioinformatics facility that encompasses computational and analytical services for arrays, DNA sequences, and proteomics.

There is a clinical trials unit consisting of staff who provide services for data management,  regulatory affairs, and protocol development for all approved protocols. The staff includes research nurses and data managers. The unit services the Data Monitoring Committee that provides oversight and quality control for the Centers clinical trials. AECC sponsors a protocol review committee that evaluates all clinical studies relevant to cancer prior to review by the Institutional Review Boards.

AECC clinical research activities are conducted at the two hospitals and outpatient facilities of the Montefiore Medical Center as well as the Jacobi Medical Center and involve the Departments of Surgery, Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Urology, Pediatrics, and Radiation Oncology. There are 55 Medical Oncology and 15 Gynecology Oncology beds at the two divisions of the Montefiore Medical Center.  A new inpatient hematology/oncology unit is now open at the Jacobi Medical Center Hospital. At the Montefiore Medical Center there is a Bone Marrow Transplantation Unit offering autologous and allogenic transplants at the Moses Division and an inpatient biologicals therapy unit for the administration of high-dose interleukin 2 at the Weiler Division.  There are Phase I and II clinical trials and AECC is an active participant in, and conducts pilot studies for, the Eastern Oncology Cooperative Group. AECC clinical investigators utilize the NIH-funded Einstein GCRC –General Clinical Research Center.

Updated: 08/13/2008

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