On Jul. 2, 2002, the University of California, Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center announced it had received National Cancer Institute (NCI) designation. The cancer center becomes one of just 20 NCI-designated programs west of the Mississippi and the only one between San Francisco and Portland, Ore.

The NCI, the nation’s top cancer organization, awards designation only to cancer institutions with the demonstrated potential to make major scientific contributions to the war against cancer. Granted after an exhaustive review process, the coveted distinction assures selected centers an ongoing, stable stream of federal research support to help them lead the nation’s cancer research effort.

Besides prestige, the designation comes with a $1.2 million grant for each of the next three years. After that, officials expect to receive as much as $20 million a year in extra funding from the NCI and other sources. The NCI currently supports nearly $9 million a year in cancer research at UC Davis. Total outside funding for the university’s integrated cancer research program now approaches more than $43.4 million.

UC Davis Cancer Center’s year-old research partnership with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the first of its kind in the nation, was a key factor in winning designation. In that partnership, physicians and scientists work to turn technology developed for the defense industry into new cancer therapies, detection methods and prevention strategies.

UC Davis Health System invested $70 million in the cancer program over the past decade, recruiting 35 new research scientists and building the 52,000-square-foot Cancer Center and 50,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art cancer research facility. The Lawrence Livermore partnership contributed 40 additional scientists.