Introduction to the Walther Oncology Center 
from the Scientific Director,
Hal E. Broxmeyer

The Walther Oncology Center, located at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, is currently celebrating its nineteenth anniversary. The work of the Walther Oncology Center is funded, in part, by grants from the Walther Cancer Institute Foundation administered through Indiana University.  As part of the Indiana University Simon Cancer Center, our goals are to foster cutting-edge basic scientific laboratory research that focuses on the cellular, biochemical and molecular biology of cancer. Close interactions with cancer clinicians are encouraged in order to accelerate the translation of new laboratory findings towards clinical utility.

The aims of the Walther Oncology Center are to:

• Understand the regulatory mechanisms involved in the proliferation,  differentiation and function of normal cells and the abnormalities in these  capacities which are associated with the progressive nature of tumor cell growth.
• Accelerate the translation of new basic scientific information to the  clinical research area in order to slow disease progression and obtain a better quality of life for patients suffering from cancer and related disorders.
• Develop and disseminate information that will lead, or help lead, to cures for the different cancers.

To achieve these goals, the Walther Oncology Center has helped to recruit  talented scientific investigators into primary and secondary faculty appointments in established medical and/or basic science departments in the Indiana University School of Medicine and into the Indiana University Cancer Center. Critical factors in the selection of investigators include their ability  to establish productive, independent research programs and to interact and collaborate with members of their department(s), the Walther Oncology Center,  the Indiana University Simon Cancer Center, other departments and research centers on campus and investigators outside of Indiana University.

Current areas of investigation by members of the Walther Oncology Center include:

• Cell growth and differentiation (normal stem cells, tumor stem cells, in vitro and in  vivo)
• Gene regulation (cell division cycle genes, cyclins, transcription factors,  DNA-binding proteins, gene knockouts)
• Cytokine production, action and intracellular signal transduction events (phosphorylation, kinases, phosphatases)
• DNA repair/drug resistance
• Transplantation biology/immunology (bone marrow, cord blood)

The Walther Oncology Center currently has 27 principal investigators and a total of over 108 members at present. This includes research associates, visiting investigators,  post-doctoral and pre-doctoral fellows, technicians and administrative personnel.

Members of the Walther Oncology Center are also members of the Indiana University Cancer Center and the Walther Cancer Institute. Within the Indiana University School of Medicine, the principal investigators currently have faculty appointments in the following departments: Medicine, Biochemistry/Molecular Biology, Microbiology/ Immunology, Pharmacology/Toxicology, Urology, and Surgery. 

Efforts to translate laboratory research findings to clinical trial continue.  Members of the Walther Oncology Center were involved in identifying umbilical  cord blood as a clinical source of transplantable hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. They set up the first cord blood bank and helped coordinate  the first transplants. Their research also led to the use of certain biologically active molecules called cytokines to modulate blood cell production  during disease states and treatment with chemotherapy.