Overview
The study of the vast scientific and cultural landscape in which nature translates DNA into the intricate structures of life holds enormous promise for exploration. The Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center, ranked in the top 10 in the nation among comprehensive cancer treatment facilities, has teamed with the nationally renowned Duke Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences to investigate the role that environment plays on cancer. The academic thought leadership of both the Nicholas School and the Cancer Center located within one of the premier academic medical centers in the country creates this distinctive atmosphere of multidisciplinary collaboration and partnership.
The goal of the partnership between the Duke Cancer Center and the Nicholas School is to unravel the interplay between genes and the environment in order to better understand why some people develop disease and why some remain unaffected when exposed to the same environmental factors. Genetics is only a part of the complex issue of disease development. Researchers from each institution will share their knowledge as they examine how different outside factors interact with genes in determining how, or if, a particular disease occurs. By doing so, researchers hope to gain a better understanding of how genes and environmental agents interact to affect the whole organism. Ultimately, researchers hope to identify new targets for potential drugs and help identify particular susceptible individuals who might be at a higher risk for cancer. |
Fred and Alice Stanback of Salisbury, NC, continued to support the work of the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center during Fiscal Year 2008, and by doing so spurred interest and attention to the environment and its impact on disease development.
In December 2007, the Stanbacks donated $2 million to the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center and Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment. This gift will be used to expand the collaborative research initiatives between the two institutions. At the end of 2007, Ann Douglas Cornell, a Duke parent and former member of the Nicholas School Board, gave an additional $10,000 gift to support this unique partnership and the research initiatives that have grown out of it.
“My hope is that working together the Cancer Center and Nicholas School can have a larger impact on these issues than they could working independently,” says Mr. Stanback. “These two institutions hold an enormous amount of knowledge and expertise. When you combine that expertise with the respect and authority that the Duke name demands, then you create a powerful team.”
Mr. Stanback previously served on the Board of Visitors of the Nicholas School (his son Brad currently serves) and Mrs. Stanback serves on the Cancer Center’s Board of Overseers.
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