As one of the leading cancer centers in the nation, we are at the forefront of translating the most promising scientific advances into potential life-saving treatments for cancer patients. Our focus is on understanding and prioritizing cancers that specifically affect New Mexicans.

UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center scientists are working diligently every day to discover the causes and cures for cancer. Delivery of our cancer programs is conducted through:

• Basic/Translational research: This laboratory-based research is critical to developing new ways to diagnose and treat cancer and when successful can result in clinical trials with new drugs, technology, and tools to improve cancer outcomes for our patients.

• Population-Based Research: This is transdisciplinary research incorporating expertise in surveillance, epidemiology, population genetics, anthropology, behavioral science, health economics, dissemination and improvement of research, biostatistics, health services and environmental health across the cancer continuum. (Prevention, Early Detection, Diagnosis, Treatment, Palliative Care and Survivorship).

• Clinical Research: This patient-oriented clinical research helps to determine new and better ways to detect, diagnose, treat, and prevent cancer. Types of clinical research include cancer clinical trials that test new treatments for a particular type of cancer; studies that lead to understanding reasons for differences in survival, treatment response, or toxicity between specific populations; and natural history studies that collect health information to understand how cancer develops and progresses over time.

Philanthropic support has the opportunity to contribute to cancer research at the UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center by funding:

• Pilot grants providing scientists with necessary funds to develop new approaches in cancer research.

• Research, recruitment, and laboratory setup: Each new researcher typically needs $1 to $1.5 million for their lab, staffing, equipment, and tools.

• Shared resources such as human capital, services, technologies, and the purchase and maintenance of equipment.

$13.5 million of philanthropic funding is needed for this important work.

The highest quality care means the right treatments in the right order to give our cancer patients the best chance for overcoming their cancer. UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center’s teams design a customized plan using the most state-of-the-art tools available to ensure the highest quality cancer care. In addition, cancer patients at UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center have access to clinical trials that use the latest scientific research. This is a critical differentiator of cancer care offered at UNM in our state, and this combination of support improves outcomes for cancer patients. Additionally, UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center looks to provide robust survivorship services to ensure seamless care in remission as more individuals survive the disease. As part of the State Health Safety Net, UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center, like all of the Health Science Center, treats all patients regardless of their ability to cover the cost of their treatment. Funding needs include:

• Funds for our Clinical Trials Office to ensure patients are aware of trials available to them along with needed clinical and administrative support providing the structure for success.

• State-of-the art tools and technologies that enhance patient care. Examples: Radiation oncology equipment including Tomotherapy and Bone Marrow Transplant equipment, as our current equipment is at the end of its life cycle and requires replacement.

• Survivorship Program: Ensuring patients living in urban and rural areas of New Mexico have all the resources they need once their cancer is in remission.

• Patient and Family Support services: Provide accommodation, transportation, meals, phycological support, and additional services our patients need to access world-class cancer care.

• Improving access to cancer care throughout New Mexico.

$9 million of philanthropic funding is needed to fulfill these important initiatives.

UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center prioritizes educating, training, and mentoring the future cancer workforce in our laboratories, clinics, and communities. UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center looks for philanthropic funds to support:

• Our fellowship program.

• Launching new training programs focused on cancer research scholarship and training experiences in population science.

• Continuing to engage with communities with summer internships for students considering a career in science.

• Launching a post-doctoral fellow to faculty program to assist post-doctoral fellows into tenure-track faculty positions in UNM Schools and Colleges. Funding needs includes compensation, laboratory space, and start-up funding.

• Continuing education funds across the cancer care workforce.

$9 million of philanthropic funding is needed to fulfill these important initiatives.

Reducing the burden of cancer in New Mexico requires research to discover and overcome the genetic, environmental, social, and behavioral factors that contribute to the distinct patterns of cancer incidence, mortality, and disparity in the multiethnic populations of New Mexico. Through our Community Outreach and Engagement Office (COE), UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center works to make cancer prevention, screening, treatment, and survivorship services more accessible to everyone in our state. The COE Office works with our Community Advisory Board, Tribal National Advisory Council. and other unique partners to address the concerns of all peoples living throughout New Mexico. Current concerns include: 1) cancer screening and timely patient navigation for screen-positive tests; 2) environmental exposure to cancer; 3) The impact of financial toxicity of cancer care, in particular for rural populations; 4) growing the cancer workforce, which can conduct research and provide cancer care to support all New Mexicans.

Funding needs:

1. Funds supporting the promotion and education across the continuum of cancer care: prevention, early detection and screening, diagnosis, treatment, palliative care, and survivorship in underserved communities. Support is inclusive of mobile units to serve New Mexicans through our state.

2. Monies for the COE to support its overall work to improve the health of all New Mexicans. Additionally, the COE requires bilingual patient navigators who can also address financial toxicity for the diverse and rural populations the Cancer Center serves.

UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center needs support to enable the growth of clinical and research activities through access to state-of-the-art space, facilities, and equipment and to build new world-class cancer research and treatment programs. We need new, modern research facilities to meet the needs of our basic/translational researchers along with their colleagues across the Health Science Center and UNM main campus. Expanded space will also allow UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center to grow its capacity for workforce training programs along with the basic/translational, population-based, and clinical research required to remain an NCI-designated cancer center nationally.

$4.5 million of philanthropic funding is required to realize this vision.

Endowed chairs and professorships are the highest academic honor that can be bestowed by a university and are key to the recruitment and retention of world-class experts in clinical and research settings. In an increasingly competitive job market, professorships and chairs, which offer compensation and research support, can be a game-changer. They support faculty recruitment, cancer research, technology, and equipment investments and are supported entirely by philanthropic funding.

$4.5 million of philanthropic funding is needed to fulfill this continuing priority.