June 17, 2016:

Today, cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide.  In his final State of the Union address, President Barack Obama tasked Vice President Joe Biden with heading up a new national effort to end cancer as we know it.

“Fifty-five years ago, President John F. Kennedy stood before a joint session of Congress and said, ‘I believe we should go to the moon.'” Biden said.  “This is our moonshot.”

As part of the White House Cancer Moonshot Task Force’s “Moonshot Initiative,” Vice President Biden has called on leaders across the health, academic, private industry, and philanthropic sectors to join together with patients, survivors, and advocates on June 29th for the first national summit of its kind: the 2016 Cancer Moonshot Summit.

The goal of the Moonshot Initiative is to double the rate of progress toward a cure, specifically by forming new alliances to defy the bounds of innovation and accelerate cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.

Members of the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium have a demonstrated commitment to progress through alliance. It is no surprise that many of our member institutions will be actively participating in the Cancer Moonshot by hosting local summits that unite the cancer community and advance the dialogue under this national charge.

Cancer Moonshot Summit Events: Wednesday, June 29

University of Illinois Cancer Center

  • University of Illinois Cancer Center, Student Center West, 2nd Floor Thompson Rooms
  • 12 p.m – 4 p.m. CDT
  • Register.
  • Learn more.

University of Iowa Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center

The public can participate by sharing their Cancer Moonshot ideas on the  or on Twitter using the hashtag #iacancermoonshot. The ideas will be shared as part of the roundtable discussion during the Iowa event.

University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center

Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota

  • University of Minnesota-Twin Cities; McNamara Alumni Center – 200 Oak St. S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55445
  • 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
  • Register.
  • Learn more.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter: #MNMoonshot

Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center (University of Nebraska)

  • Linder Reading Room, 2001
    Michael F. Sorrell Center for Health Science Education
    42nd and Emile (The Nebraska Medical Center Campus)
  • 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
  • Register (space is limited to first 50 attendees).

Purdue University Center for Cancer Research

  • Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering at Purdue University
  • 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
  • Register.
  • Learn more.

Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey

If you cannot attend, Rutgers CINJ will be offering a live stream of the local summit on their Facebook page.

About the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium: The Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium was created in 2013 to transform the conduct of cancer research through collaborative, hypothesis-driven, highly translational oncology trials that leverage the scientific and clinical expertise of Big Ten universities. The goal of the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium is to create a unique team-research culture to drive science rapidly from ideas to new approaches to cancer treatment. Within this innovative environment, today’s research leaders collaborate with and mentor the research leaders of tomorrow with the unified goal of improving the lives of all patients with cancer.

About the Big Ten Conference: The Big Ten Conference is an association of world-class universities whose member institutions share a common mission of research, graduate, professional and undergraduate teaching and public service. Founded in 1896, the Big Ten has sustained a comprehensive set of shared practices and policies that enforce the priority of academics in the lives of students competing in intercollegiate athletics and emphasize the values of integrity, fairness and competitiveness. The broad-based programs of the 14 Big Ten institutions will provide over $200 million in direct financial support to almost 9,500 students for more than 11,000 participation opportunities on 350 teams in 42 different sports. The Big Ten sponsors 28 official conference sports, 14 for men and 14 for women, including the addition of men’s ice hockey and men’s and women’s lacrosse since 2013. For more information, visit www.bigten.org.