Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research

Strausberg Joins Leadership Team of The Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research Ltd Reporting to Dr. Andrew J. G. Simpson

December 7, 2009 - NEW YORK, NY - The Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research Ltd (LICR) announced today that Dr. Robert L. Strausberg is joining the staff as Director for Collaborative Sciences. Dr. Strausberg's appointment reflects the growing emphasis that LICR is placing upon its disease oriented research effort in the form of Cancer Initiatives, comprising collaborative networks of investigators from LICR Branches, affiliates and Ludwig Trust Centers around the world. These Initiatives serve as a means to focus basic and translational laboratories on the disease and provide participants with access to well annotated clinical samples. Currently the Institute has Brain, Breast, Colon and Ovarian Cancer Initiatives and a Melanoma Initiative.

Dr. Strausberg will be overseeing these efforts as part of LICR's leadership and will bring his extensive experience with genomics and transcriptomics to bear on aspects of cancer particularly in the context of clinical disease. In this role he will work with LICR Scientific Director, Dr. Andrew Simpson, and with the Institute’s Scientific Advisory Committee. In addition, he will directly pursue and implement laboratory research in support of the Ludwig Cancer network.

For the past six years, Dr. Strausberg served as Vice President for Research at The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) and Deputy Director of the merged J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), as well as leader of the Human Genomic Medicine group. Previously, he was at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda Maryland, serving first to lead the sequencing technology development program for the Human Genome Project, working with Drs. James Watson and Francis Collins, and then at the National Cancer Institute with NCI Director Dr. Richard Klausner, leading the NCI Cancer Genome Anatomy Project and the NIH Mammalian Gene Collection. Concurrent with his new position at LICR, Dr. Strausberg will be appointed Adjunct Professor of Human Genomic Medicine at JCVI and continue to oversee ongoing collaborative LICR/JCVI cancer research projects.

Dr. Strausberg said, “I am delighted and honored to join LICR. Since 1997 I have been privileged to collaborate scientifically with the LICR team worldwide, and especially with Dr. Simpson. Becoming part of the team is a dream come true. I look forward to working with them as we develop and implement new approaches toward improving the health of patients with cancer, and early detection and prevention in others. Of particular importance to me is LICR’s global health vision which addresses the needs of improved cancer care and prevention on a worldwide basis.”

“Dr. Strausberg’s singular commitment to team based, genetic oriented cancer research is a perfect fit for LICR,” said Dr. Simpson. “His extensive experience in structuring and arranging funding for such projects will strategically strengthen the scientific leadership of LICR as we seek to incorporate the unique opportunities being presented by next-generation sequencing in exploring the biology of human tumors within the context of our worldwide research network. This collaboration represents a significant commitment to making continued and substantive progress in our understanding and control of cancer.”

About LICR Ltd

LICR Ltd is a global non-profit organization committed to improving the understanding and control of cancer through integrated laboratory and clinical discovery employing over 800 scientists in Branches throughout North and South America, Europe and Australia. Leveraging its worldwide network of investigators and the ability to sponsor and conduct its own clinical trials, LICR is actively engaged in translating its discoveries into applications for human benefit.

LICR Media Contact

Dr. Andrew Simpson, Scientific Director

212-450-1542