Fox Chase Cancer Center In Depth

During the late 1970s, many scientists were researching how proteins are made within cells. Hershko took a different approach. He began to study the other end of the protein’s life cycle—degradation, the process through which cells mark proteins for destruction, then destroy and dispose of them.

How one man saved a research institute.

After several years of planning, the American Oncologic Hospital and the Institute for Cancer Research merged in late 1974 and became one of the country’s first National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers: Fox Chase Cancer Center.

Her achievements earned her the American Association for Cancer Research’s annual Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research in April 2009.

Dr. Blumberg describes the path that led to his groundbreaking discovery.

Irving Millman’s Hepatitis B screening test led to a 25-percent reduction in the risk of contracting hepatitis B from blood transfusions. For these accomplishments, the scientist was inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame in 1993.

In Fox Chase’s formative years, the researchers who helped chart the Center’s scientific course reached far beyond Philadelphia to start a tradition of pioneering investigation into cancer’s origins. Perched on a bluff overlooking the Cape Cod Bay, the Marine Experimental Station had a mission: to investigate the biological basis of cancer.

While Anna Gray’s knack for fundraising earned her accolades, her efforts to educate the masses about cancer at a time when it bordered on being a dirty word were just as important. She pioneered the auxiliary’s tradition of hosting annual cancer forums, groundbreaking public events that focused on scientific breakthroughs and encouraged early detection and treatment.