Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
The Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC) is a cancer research center at University of California, Los Angeles.
History
The center was originated by UCLA scientists and volunteers who began working together in the late 1960s.[1] The center was formally established in 1974 and was designated as a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute in 1976.[1][2] The namesake of the center is the Jonsson family; entrepreneur and philanthropist Kenneth Alan Jonsson (the son of Texas Instruments co-founder J. Erik Jonsson), along with his wife Diana Gordon Jonsson, made a $1 million gift for UCLA in 1975 to establish the center, and continued to financially support the center over a period of decades.[3][4]
Joseph W. Cullen served as a deputy director of the center.[5]
Organization, activities, and funding
The primary sponsor of the center is the Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation (JCCF),[2] a 501(c)(3) entity (established in 1945).[6]
The center employs around 250 physicians and scientists, who engage in clinical activities (i.e., cancer treatment), education, research (basic and clinical), and cancer prevention.[1][2]
Although based at UCLA, the Center has clinics elsewhere in California, in Westwood, Santa Monica, Alhambra, Irvine, Pasadena, Porter Ranch, Santa Clarita, and Simi Valley.[2]
The center is known for its research on breast and ovarian cancer.[2] JCCC scientists developed palbociclib (PD 0332991), a breast-cancer drug that was in phase III clinical trials as of 2015.[2] JCCC scientists also identified IGF-1 as a pathway as one pathway for the growth of tumors.[2]
In 2013, U.S. News & World Report ranked JCCC as #11 nationally among cancer centers.[2] In 2015, the center ranked #6.[7]
References
- 1 2 3 Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center: University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, National Cancer Institute (accessed August 22, 2016).
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Anne Hubell, "University of California, Los Angeles, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center" in The SAGE Encyclopedia of Cancer and Society (SAGE Publications: 2d ed. 2015; ed. Graham A. Colditz), pp. 1228-29.
- ↑ Obituary: Kenneth Alan Jonsson dies at 79; co-founder of cancer center at UCLA, Los Angeles Times (April 4, 2010).
- ↑ Mary Rourke, Diana G. Jonsson, 76; Helped Found Prominent Cancer Center at UCLA, Los Angeles Times (May 12, 2006).
- ↑ Obituary: Joseph W. Cullen, 53, a Cancer Researcher, New York Times (November 28, 1990).
- ↑ About the Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (accessed August 22, 2016).
- ↑ UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center once again ranks among top 10 cancer centers nationwide (press release), Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (July 21, 2015).