Research Programs

The research programs of the Division of Hematology and Oncology focus on discovering new approaches to diagnose and the prevention and treatment of cancers that can be translated to the clinic. Many of our faculty are recognized leaders nationally and internationally in cancer research. Our laboratory-based research scientists and clinical researchers actively engage in research efforts as members of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC).

The Division of Hematology and Oncology, one of 13 academic divisions in the Department of Medicine, has figured prominently in the success of the VICC and the rapid growth of its clinical and research portfolio. In 2016, the Vanderbilt Department of Medicine ranked 3rd in NIH research funding among all U.S. medical school departments of medicine.

Today, the Division of Hematology and Oncology is comprised of over 80 full-time faculty members who maintain active research programs with more than $7.5 million in annual peer-reviewed grant support and more than $25 million in annual non-peer-reviewed research support.

The Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center is comprised of eight research programs that build on historical strengths at Vanderbilt as well as represent new opportunities for discovery and development.

The eight Vanderbilt-Ingram Research Programs are: 

• Breast Cancer
• Cancer Epidemiology, Prevention & Control
• Cancer Health Outcomes and Control Research Program
• Gastrointestinal Cancer
• Genome Maintenance Research Program
• Host-Tumor Interactions
• Signal Transduction and Cell Proliferation
• Translational Research in Interventional Oncology

In addition, there are a number of shared resources that provide our investigators access to frontier technology that would otherwise be impractical to set up in individual laboratories. These resources provide our faculty access to state-of-the-art instrumentation and methodology that includes:

• Animal and Human Imaging Shared Resource
• Antibody Shared Resource
• Bioanalytics and Proteomics Shared Resource
• Cell Imaging Shared Resource
• Chemical Synthesis and High-Throughput Analytics Shared Resource
• Flow Cytometry Shared Resource
• Genomic Sciences Shared Resource
• Quantitative Sciences Shared Resources
• Research Informatics Shared Resource
• Survey & Biospecimen Shared Resource
• Transgenic Mouse/ES Cell Shared Resource
• Translational Pathology Shared Resource
• VICC Innovative Translational Research Shared Resources

For detailed information about the seven VICC Research Programs and Shared Resources, visit VICC.