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2d ago

UCSF and Stanford Launch $200 Million Weill Cancer Hub West

It unites UCSF and Stanford to launch four pioneering cancer research programs toward clinical trials with support from a $100 million matching gift

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Stanford pathology professor Jonathan Long is co-leading a project funded by the Weill Cancer Hub, a collaboration between UCSF and Stanford.
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Overview

  • The Weill Family Foundation has pledged a $100 million matching gift to seed the hub and UCSF and Stanford have already secured 25 percent of the funds toward a $200 million goal.
  • Four flagship “moonshot” projects are underway, targeting in vivo CRISPR-based immune cell engineering, personalized cellular therapies for solid tumors, cancer–diet and weight-loss drug interactions, and AI-driven treatment personalization.
  • Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna joins the CRISPR engineering project, while Stanford’s Crystal Mackall and UCSF’s Kole Roybal co-lead the effort to develop next-generation cellular therapies.
  • Researchers aim to file an FDA investigational new drug application within three years to begin first-in-human trials of in vivo engineered cellular therapies.
  • Building on the 2019 Weill Neurohub and March’s Cancer Hub East, the initiative seeks to accelerate bench-to-bedside breakthroughs amid rising global cancer cases and funding challenges.