UCCRC Membership Resources

The mission of the UCCRC is “to elucidate the determinants of cancer, to develop cures for cancer and to prevent cancer through innovation and collaboration.”  Cancer Research Center members are expected to contribute to this overriding objective through a broad range of clinical and research activities including:
  • Stimulating, supporting, and facilitating collaborative interdisciplinary research in cancer;
  • Transforming discoveries made in the laboratory, the clinic and the community into new applications that enhance cancer prevention, diagnosis and care;
  • Applying the modern techniques of basic, clinical and population science to the study of human cancer and using them to benefit all populations affected by cancer and to understand and eliminate disparities in cancer care and health differences between diverse population groups;
  • Conducting multi-disciplinary clinical treatment programs that provide patients with the most appropriate and effective combinations of advanced therapies available;
  • Providing access to clinical trials to community oncologists and all populations—including minority communities—via a network of affiliated hospitals;
  • Initiating and developing cancer prevention, risk assessment and control research at the University of Chicago and throughout the Chicago metropolitan area; and
  • Providing education and training in cancer research and advanced cancer care for basic scientists, clinical investigators and health care professionals at all levels of training.
Benefits of Membership

In addition to the intangible benefits such as collegial interaction with basic, clinical and population researchers, UCCRC membership provides a number of more tangible benefits such as:

  • Access to UCCRC Shared Resources at discounted rates
    • Fitch Monoclonal Antibody Facility
    • Flow Cytometry and Immunohistochemistry Facility
    • Human Immunologic Monitoring Facility
    • Integrated Microscopy Facility
    • MRIS Imaging Facility
    • Immunohistochemistry
    • Genomics
    • Scientific Visualization and Image Analysis Facility
    • Transgenic Mouse and Embryonic Stem Cell Facility
    • Human Tissue Resource Facility
    • Pharmacology Core Facility
    • Biostatistics Facility
    • Cancer Clinical Trials Office (CCTO)
  • Start up funds for new faculty: The UCCRC partners with a member's primary department in providing start-up funds for faculty involved in cancer research.
  • Research funds for pilot projects.
  • Research funds for innovative, early phase clinical trials
  • Seed funding for data collection in preparation for large multi-disciplinary, multi-departmental grants (eg. SPORES, P01’s, Center grants)
  • Pre and post-award support in the submission and administration of multi-disciplinary, multi-departmental grants (eg. SPORES, P01’s, Center grants); UCCRC staff will assume responsibility for budget preparation, collection of all grant materials (biosketches, other support etc), grant compilation and submission and
  • Access to program-specific activities, such as seminars, retreats, journal clubs, travel funds.
  • Access to UCCRC activities, such as the UCCRC Seminar Series and UCCRC Translational Conference.
Types of Membership and Eligibility Requirements

Faculty who participate in basic, clinical or population-based cancer research are eligible for UCCRC membership. There are three categories of membership:

  • Investigators are faculty members who have current cancer-related, peer-reviewed funding from a national funding agency (as specified in NCI Guidelines) as a principal investigator OR are the principal investigator of a peer-reviewed clinical research protocol (i.e., approved by NIH, NCI, FDA, VA, ACS or the Clinical Trials Review Committee of the UCCRC) OR have had such cancer-related, research support OR chaired a clinical trial within the past three calendar years and intend to continue in cancer research.
  • Associate Investigators are faculty members who have not had cancer-related, peer-reviewed national funding as a principal investigator within the past three years OR who have not served as principal investigator on a peer-reviewed clinical protocol but who have demonstrated an interest in cancer research OR have critical skills, knowledge, and/or resources that contribute to the Cancer Research Center's mission of collaborative cancer research. (Most junior faculty applicants fall into this category.)
  • Affiliate membership:
    • Affiliate 1 membership is open to individuals whose principal contribution to the Cancer Center is in research support (i.e., Research Associates with or without parenthetical rank), patient care, or education in the context of a peer-reviewed research program.
    • Affiliate 2 membership is used for faculty who are not currently cancer focused but who express an interest and commitment to developing cancer-related research and collaboration with UCCRC members.  These individuals will have a maximum of three years in which to demonstrate the cancer relevance of their work, and to apply for investigator or associate investigator membership.
    • All affiliate members are eligible for discounts on core facilities, and support from UCCRC discretionary funds for research, educational activities, or UCCRC-related travel. Affiliate members are not required to be aligned with specific research programs and may be located at institutions external to the University of Chicago but affiliated with the Cancer Research Center; Affiliate members can be appointed by the UCCRC (Cancer Advisory Committee) without formal secondary appointments through the Provost Office.
Membership Application & Process
A copy of the application for membership can be found at: http://uccrc.uchicago.edu/docs/Application.pdf
  • Prior to initiating the official membership process, each applicant should contact the leader of the program they wish to join. He or she should describe his or her qualifications, cancer research interests, and potential collaborative activities with current cancer center members. If the program leader(s) supports the candidacy, he or she should submit a letter endorsing the nominee to the UCCRC Cancer Advisory Committee. The letter should be accompanied with the candidate's completed application, his or her curriculum vitae, and a summary of research support. A letter of support from his or her Department Chair is also required.  All letters should be addressed to the UCCRC Director, Dr. Michelle Le Beau, and sent to Pat Geiger (pgeiger@medicine.bsd.uchicago.edu), H212.
  • All applications are reviewed and voted on by the Cancer Advisory Committee (CAC)
Responsibilities of Membership
Membership has both its privileges and responsibilities, and members (new and established) must meet and maintain the standards established by the UCCRC, its senior scientific leadership and the leaders of their primary programs. In general, all members belong to one of the six established programs. Basic responsibilities of UCCRC membership are as follows:
  • Continued engagement in cancer-related research
  • Participation in your program’s activities (seminars, workshops, retreats, journal clubs)
  • Research and/or clinical interactions and collaborations with members in your program as well as members in other UCCRC programs
  • Acknowledgement or citation of the Cancer Research Center and its cores on cancer-related publications 
  • Compliance with all policies and procedures of the UCCRC Data and Safety Monitoring Plan as related to the conduct of clinical trials including:
    • Response to and compliance with recommendations of CTRC and SAM (including study closure) and UCCRC conducted audits
  • If involved in clinical activity: participation in the UCCRC audit program as an auditor
Membership Review
  • If at any time, and following review of circumstances and/or appeal, the Clinical Research Oversight Committee (CROC) finds an investigator to be noncompliant with the DSM (DSM) Plan guidelines, the CROC will recommend that the CAC suspend membership privileges.
  • On an annual basis, at the time of submission of the competing or non-competing Cancer Center Support Grant, current membership rosters are reviewed.  At that time, members may be asked to update the cancer relatedness of their activities.  Continued membership will require documentation of a cancer focus and collaboration with other UCCRC members. 
  • At the time of re-appointment (within their primary departments) or promotion, each investigator or associate investigator must apply for renewal of Cancer Research Center membership by writing a brief (one page) letter to the UCCRC Director indicating his or her desire to be considered for re-appointment and describing his or her continued participation in cancer-related research. This letter should also include a description of programmatic interactions and usage of UCCRC core facilities. An updated CV and Research support documentation is also required. Re-appointment in the UCCRC requires approval of the Cancer Advisory Committee.
  • An Associate Investigator may be considered for advancement to the Investigator level annually if he or she meets the criteria specified above for appointment as an Investigator.
  • All changes in membership including suspension of membership privileges requires review and a vote by the CAC.