Expanding the Legacy for Dr. David Alberts

 

We are honoring the career of David S. Alberts, MD as a preeminent academic clinician and cancer prevention researcher at the University of Arizona Cancer Center.

Throughout his career spanning more than 40 years, Dr. Alberts has focused on translational cancer prevention and treatment research. The emphasis of his laboratory-based and clinical research has been on the prevention and treatment of such pervasive and potentially deadly diseases as cancers of the breast, colon, ovary, and skin. Read more about Dr. Alberts here.

As a component of Dr. Alberts’ responsibility for leading the University of Arizona Cancer Center (UACC) Cancer Prevention and Control Program, he and senior members of the cancer center became intensely interested in primary skin cancer prevention.  In the late 1980s, they successfully competed for a National Cancer Institute Program Project Grant focusing on Prevention of Skin Cancer that has been continuously funded for the past 36 years.  As a clinician and a scientist, he saw the impact that skin cancer, including melanoma, had on individuals and our communities. He envisioned a center at the University of Arizona that would bring together clinicians, lab scientists, behavioral researchers, and educators to address the increasing incidence of all forms of skin cancer. His dream, with the efforts of other Arizona faculty, led to the founding of the UACC Skin Cancer Institute in 2006 with its mission to prevent and cure skin cancer. It is Dave’s strong desire to guarantee the longevity of the Skin Cancer Institute with an endowment. Learn more about the SCI here.

The Endowment

As we celebrate his dedication to cancer research and treatment, the UACC has launched a campaign in honor of David S. Alberts, MD to endow Skin Cancer Institute statewide research and education programs. 

The UACC Skin Cancer Institute (SCI) is a one-of-a kind academic institution in the United States, dedicated to reduce skin cancer incidence and improve skin cancer management, especially for our Southwestern population.  This campaign will help fund skin cancer prevention programming in the areas of Outreach and Community Engagement, Research, and Treatment. 

This campaign will ensure the future of the SCI, allowing more cutting-edge research, education, and patient care.  Your support will contribute to crucial programs that will shape the future of skin cancer research, treatment, and prevention in Arizona and nationwide. 

The time is now

Dr. David Alberts is the founding director of the UACC SCI.  As he retires from his over 40 year career dedicated to cancer prevention and treatment, the UACC wants to honor his legacy by ensuring the efforts of the SCI will continue. 

What the endowment can fund

  • A faculty chair in Clinical/Translational Laboratory Research in preventing skin cancer
  • A UACC clinician scientist in translational research
  • A behavioral research scientist in developing strategies for individuals and communities to  prevent and detect skin cancer
  • SCI outreach and education activities to engage schools, organizations, and communities  in preventing skin cancer
  • A fund to regularly fund seed grants in novel research for preventing, detecting, and treating melanoma and other skin cancers
  • Students and fellows in their research careers as they become the next generation of public health and basic research scientists in skin cancer prevention, detection, and treatment

 

Contact us today to learn how you can become a part of this amazing new chapter in skin cancer prevention. 

Phone: 1-888-724-2749 

E-mail: contactsci@uacc.arizona.edu