Research Programs
We align our members into cross-functional scientific teams that focus on critical research questions rather than traditional scientific disciplines. By bringing together complementary expertise, we can accelerate discovery and ensure rigorous project design. This approach creates a collaborative framework to advance our understanding of the problems of cancer.
Teamwork for Discovery
Our research model brings scientists together in purpose-built teams organized around critical scientific questions. By aligning diverse expertise to shared hypotheses, we foster collaboration, accelerate learning cycles, and increase the likelihood of translating insights into impactful discoveries.
Our Research Programs
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center's seven formal research programs focus on the discovery of new approaches for the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of cancer. More than 300 members from across Vanderbilt, the Veterans Administration Medical Center, Meharry Medical College, and Tennessee State University participate in these programs, as well as our other cancer-focused research initiatives.
Questions about our Research Programs?
Specialized Programs of Research Excellence
The National Cancer Institute’s Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPOREs) grants promote and speed up the exchange between interdisciplinary research in the laboratory to the treatment of patients in the clinical care setting. SPORE programs allow laboratory and clinical scientists to work collaboratively to plan, design, and implement research programs with the greatest potential to impact cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis and treatment.
SPORE in GI Cancer
A team making great progress toward developing therapies for gastrointestinal cancers that are recalcitrant to current treatment options.
Collaborative Research
In addition to our formal research programs and SPORE grants, Vanderbilt-Ingram is home to several major epidemiologic cohort studies and several interdisciplinary, translational research initiatives. We are dedicated to the cultivation of a collaborative research ecosystem.
News
Cancer
Breast cancer atlas helps chart course for precision oncology
The new map integrates data from more than 7,600 tumors across 22 independent studies and reveals previously hidden forms of breast cancer that differ in prognosis, biology and…
Cancer
More time with the people he loves: A veteran tells his TIL therapy story, a first at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center
Senior Chief Petty Officer Ed Stift, U.S. Navy (retired), was the first patient to receive tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. Watch…
Cancer
State-of-the-art Bronchoscopy Laboratory will transform pulmonary care for Vanderbilt Health patients
Bronchoscopy is a procedure that allows medical teams to view, treat and biopsy tissue inside the lungs using a thin, flexible tube called a bronchoscope. The new space will…
Become a Research Member
Innovation and discovery are driven by collaboration. Becoming a member of Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center extends your participation and opportunities to engage with peers to investigate the questions around how to best prevent, diagnose, treat, and manage cancer.