The UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center is a

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...

research and treatment center at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which r ...

. One of 52

National Cancer Institute The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. T ...

-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the United States, its clinical base is the N.C. Cancer Hospital, part of the

UNC Health Care UNC Health is a not-for-profit medical system owned by the North Carolina, State of North Carolina and based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It provides services throughout the Research Triangle an ...

system. UNC Lineberger is the only public NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center in the state of North Carolina. The current director is H. Shelton Earp III who succeeded current NCI director

Norman Sharpless Norman Edward "Ned" Sharpless (born September 20, 1966) is the previous Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Before that, Sharpless was Professor of Medicine and Genetics Chair, Director of University of North Carolina UNC Lineberger ...

History and name

UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center was established in 1975 with Joseph S. Pagano, Professor of Medicine and Microbiology at the

University of North Carolina School of Medicine The University of North Carolina School of Medicine is a professional school within the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It offers a Doctor of Medicine degree along with combined Doctor of Medicine / Doctor of Philosophy or Doctor of M ...

, as its founding director. It was named after the Lineberger family of

Belmont, North Carolina Belmont is a small suburban city in Gaston County, North Carolina, United States, located about west of uptown Charlotte and east of Gastonia. The population was 10,076 at the 2010 census. Once known as Garibaldi Station, it was named for ...

, whose Lineberger Foundation provided the core funding for the center's first dedicated research and administrative building, completed in 1984. The cancer center was previously led by

, who was appointed to the role in 2014. Sharpless, an expert in molecular therapeutics, attended the University of North Carolina as both an undergraduate, receiving the

Morehead-Cain Scholarship The Morehead-Cain Scholarship (originally the Morehead Scholarship) was the first merit scholarship program established in the United States. It was founded at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1951 and was named for its benefact ...

, and as a medical student. In 2017, he was nominated and confirmed as the director of the

. H. Shelton Earp III, who served as director of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center prior to Sharpless, agreed to serve as interim director after Sharpless left for the NCI. Earp was appointed on a permanent status in 2018. The center's clinical base, the N.C. Cancer Hospital, was completed in 2009. In the summer of 2007, the North Carolina General Assembly established the University Cancer Research Fund (UCRF) to support cancer research at UNC Lineberger and the North Carolina Cancer Hospital with annual funding of $50 million.

Members and research

UNC Lineberger's members come from over 40 departments at the

, including UNC-Chapel Hill's

School of Medicine A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, MB ...

, School of Nursing, School of Dentistry, the Gillings School of Global Public Health, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, and the College of Arts and Sciences. The Center has nine formal scientific programs: Cancer

Cell Biology Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living a ...

Immunology Immunology is a branch of medicineImmunology for Medical Students, Roderick Nairn, Matthew Helbert, Mosby, 2007 and biology that covers the medical study of immune systems in humans, animals, plants and sapient species. In such we can see ther ...

, Molecular Therapeutics,

Virology Virology is the scientific study of biological viruses. It is a subfield of microbiology that focuses on their detection, structure, classification and evolution, their methods of infection and exploitation of host cells for reproduction, th ...

, Cancer Genetics,

Clinical Research Clinical research is a branch of healthcare science that determines the safety and effectiveness ( efficacy) of medications, devices, diagnostic products and treatment regimens intended for human use. These may be used for prevention, treat ...

, Cancer Prevention and Control, and Cancer

Epidemiology Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evide ...

. In 2006, its members held over $170 million in annual research and training grants, including $48 million in NCI funding.National Cancer Institute
"Cancer Center Profile: University of North Carolina (UNC) Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center"
. ''NCI Cancer Bulletin'', June 20, 2006 , Volume 3, Number 25

Notable members

Joseph DeSimone Joseph M. DeSimone (born May 16, 1964) is an American chemist, inventor, and entrepreneur who has co-founded companies based on his research, including the American 3D printing technology company, Carbon, of which he was CEO from 2014 until Nov ...

, American chemist and recipient of the 2008 Lemelson-MIT Prize *

Aziz Sancar Aziz Sancar (born 8September 1946) is a Turkish molecular biologist specializing in DNA repair, cell cycle checkpoints, and circadian clock. In 2015, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry along with Tomas Lindahl and Paul L. Modrich fo ...

, Turkish-American biochemist and Winner of the 2015

Nobel Prize in Chemistry ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then "M ...

References

External links

* {{authority control Healthcare in North Carolina Cancer organizations based in the United States Federally Funded Research and Development Centers Medical research institutes in North Carolina National Cancer Centers NCI-designated cancer centers Cancer hospitals Hospitals established in 1975