Working with colleagues from across the country, faculty from the Division and other clinical department including radiology, surgery, otolaryngology, pathology and preventive medicine, plus key basic scientists from several disciplines, develop and conduct studies which often have biologic as well as clinical endpoints. CALGB trials that originate from The Ohio State University are often based on studies done by training and contributing faculty of this program.

Research in the Division of Hematology and Oncology focuses on developing drug therapies for treating solid-tumor and hematologic malignancies, and on cancer prevention through nutrition and natural products.

In recent direct research funding, Miguel Villalona, MD, was awarded a $3 million phase II clinical trials contract from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), placing Ohio State in a group of only five other cancer institutions in America that have received NCI contracts for both phase I and phase II clinical trials. In addition, Charles Shapiro, MD, was awarded a $1.25 million grant from The Lance Armstrong Foundation to establish a cancer survivorship center at Ohio State that will work to improve the care and quality of life of cancer survivors.  Read more about other Division grant awards and research accomplishments…

The Division of Hematology and Oncology participates in studies conducted by the Cancer and Leukemia Group B, a multidisciplinary national cooperative clinical cancer study group funded by the National Cancer Institute. The Division integrates its large patient population, excellent clinical and basic science faculty and the superb facilities of the OSU James Cancer Hospital with pertinent disciplines such as pathology, radiation oncology, surgical oncology, gynecologic oncology and pediatric oncology to provide comprehensive clinical and research training in oncology and hematology.

Clinical Trials

Clinical trials are an important reason the OSU Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC-James) is able to offer patients the latest cancer treatments.  A free Clinical Trial Matching and Referral Service is made available to Ohio State University Cancer Program visitors through a collaboration with EmergingMed.  Please note that EmergingMed both maintains its own privacy policy and utilizes a separate online account registration to store clinical trial matching results.

OSUCCC Facilities

Several hundred thousand net square feet of laboratories, offices, and clinical facilities are under total or shared control of the OSUCCC for use by its more than 250 cancer researchers.  Much of this space is housed in Wiseman Hall, the Tzagournis Medical Research Facility, and the OSU Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute.  The OSU James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute also contains 26 basic research laboratories and support facilities.

In 2004, the OSUCCC signed a lease agreement for the former Borden Foods Corporation research and development building off Polaris Parkway to provide 20,000 square feet of new laboratory, office, and support space in what is now called the Polaris Innovation Center.

Ohio State’s Biomedical Research Tower (BRT) opened in November 2006 adjacent to the OSUCCC’s other research facilities and the OSU James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute.  Approximately half of this 12-story, 404,000-gross-square-foot building is provided to the OSUCCC to accommodate cancer research.

The new BRT space will complement a planned multi-year expansion of the OSUCCC’s scope and facilities known as Project Cancer, launched in 2005.  This project calls for a new 10-story cancer hospital that will bring the OSUCCC to a million square feet of space and stand in close proximity to existing and additional research space and clinical resources.  Project Cancer will thus position research and patient care teams closer together to help them more expediently turn scientific research into innovative treatments.

Core Facilities

The Shared Resources at the OSU Comprehensive Cancer Center are a network of specialized service facilities, also referred to as core facilities, that facilitate an investigator's ability to conduct cancer research. They include:

• Analytical Cytometry
• Behavioral Measurement
• Biomedical Informatics
• Biostatistics Core
• Cell Manipulations Laboratory
• Clinical Trials Office
• Leukemia Tissue Bank
• Microarray
• Molecular Cytogenetics
• Comparative Pathology & Mouse Phenotyping
• Nucleic Acid
• Pharmacoanalytical
• Proteomics
• Tissue Procurement
• Transgenic Animal
• Translational Trials Development & Support Lab*
• Viral Vector Core*

More information about these core facilities is available on the OSUCCC Website.

Fellowship Research Opportunities

Research is part of all Hematology and Oncology postdoctoral fellows' training. Clinical investigation usually begins soon after the start of the fellowship and is pursued throughout the fellowship. Physician-trainees are required to participate in either clinical or laboratory research. There are many opportunities in Phase I and II clinical trials for the fellow to participate in novel developmental therapeutics and drug formulation. A physician-trainee may also decide to pursue a basic science laboratory for the first two years, followed by clinical training.  Fellows in the three-year program spend anywhere from 12 to 24 months of their training in research.

Fellows may choose research mentors from the training faculty who participate in research ranging from basic to clinical.  All have the goal of improving cancer treatment and prevention and are committed to translating research advances between the bench and the bedside.

Learn more about research opportunities in the fellowship program in Ohio State’s Division of Hematology and Oncology…

*These Shared Resources are made available via an affiliation between the OSUCCC and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.