TISCH CANCER INSTITUTE AT THE ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI Principal Investigator/Director: Ramon Parsons, MD, PhD ABSTRACT: The mission of the Tisch Cancer Institute is to advance basic, clinical and population health cancer research, so as to prevent cancer in healthy individuals and improve the lives of cancer patients and their families in our diverse communities. To accomplish this mission, the TCI has developed collaborative research programs that strive to translate discoveries to new therapies and to develop new prevention and delivery strategies with priority given to cancers affecting our catchment area. TCI’s four cancer research programs are: Cancer Immunology, Cancer Mechanisms, Cancer Prevention and Control, and Cancer Clinical Investigation. Within its four programs, the TCI has a strong foundation of cancer research with direct cancer-related funding of $53,106,982. This includes peer-reviewed funding of $36,910,750, of which $27,662,959 is NIH funding, including $15,939,357 from the NCI. The TCI fosters intra and inter-programmatic cancer research through strategic planning, pilot project awards, interdisciplinary meetings and retreats, and disease-specific focus groups. In addition, the TCI enables cutting-edge research by providing outstanding cores, equipment, facilities and information technology. TCI supports the following five shared resources: Flow Cytometry, Mouse Genetics, Microscopy, Biostatistics, and Human Immune Monitoring Center, as well as the following three cores-in- development: Biorepository and Pathology Core, Bioinformatics for Next Generation Sequencing, and Biomedical Data Science and Informatics. The Cancer Clinical Trials Office with its newly established Early Phase Trials Unit provides the infrastructure to conduct novel, investigator initiated protocols developed by TCI investigators. The TCI’s catchment area includes the New York City (NYC) neighborhoods of East Harlem, Central Harlem and the Upper East Side, with the Harlems experiencing excess cancer incidence, morbidity and mortality as compared to NYC and the US. In addition, the TCI is the coordinating center for the World Trade Center First Responders Program, and the rescue workers affected by the 9/11 attacks form a distinct and unique component of the TCI catchment area. TCI develops and fosters a dynamic team of scientists, clinical investigators and administrators and provides the research infrastructure support needed to spur new cancer discoveries and improve the outcomes of cancer patients and their families.