The Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center

Patient Care
- Research Overview
- - Membership Directory
    Search a listing of full members of the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, as well as directories of members by research program.
  - Membership Criteria
    Learn about the criteria for becoming a member of the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center.
  - Become a Member
    Apply for membership in the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center by submitting a short form.
- - Shared Resources
    The Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center is home to state-of-the-art facilities and provides support to shared resources at UNMC.
  - UNMC Cores and Shared Resources
    Researchers also have access to shared resources through the UNMC Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research.
  - Request Research Space
    Complete this form to request research space.
- - Cancer Biology Program
    The Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center Cancer Biology Program represents a long-standing commitment to cancer mechanisms-focused research.
  - Targets, Modulators and Delivery Program
    This program develops and delivers small molecules to modulate validated cancer targets as eventual cancer therapeutics.
  - Cancer Prevention & Control Program
    This program aims at identifying and understanding the factors influencing cancer risk, with a special emphasis on disparities and rural populations in the catchment area.
- - Registries
    View registries that are currently enrolling subjects through iCaRe2.
  - Information for Patients
    Participation helps researchers understand specific cancer types, determine risk factors, advance treatment for patients and discover cancer prognostic markers.
  - Information for Researchers
    iCaRe2 aims to foster clinical and epidemiological studies and accelerate the secondary use of cancer and health related data for translational research.
  - Information for Sponsors
    Your gift will support the continuous system growth and improve strides in personalized medicine, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cancer.
- Community Outreach Overview
- Mission
  The Community Outreach and Engagement Office aims to reduce overall cancer burden and eliminate cancer-related health disparities in its catchment area.
- Community Advisory Board
  This board advises on the direction of cancer center research, dissemination of evidence from ongoing research activities, and policy recommendations.
- Speaker's Bureau
  The Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center Speakers Bureau provides resources to community groups across Nebraska including experts to give presentations on cancer-related topics.
- Resources
  The Community Outreach and Engagement Office provides such resources as videos, infographics, reports and community needs assessments.
- Our Team
  Find members of the Community Outreach and Engagement Office team.
- Nebraska Breast Health Navigation Program
  This program is working to eliminate barriers for breast cancer survivors, using trained volunteers called Lay Patient Navigators who provide peer-to-peer support.
Training & Education
- Leadership Overview
- Director's Message
  Read a message from Joann Sweasy, PhD, director of the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center.
- About the Center
  Learn about the mission and vision of the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center.

— The Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center — Research — Cancer Biology Program

Cancer Biology Program

This program represents a long-standing commitment to cancer mechanisms-focused research.

The vision of the program is to understand the fundamental mechanisms that underlie cancer initiation and progression and to interface with other programs of the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center – including the Targets, Modulators and Delivery Program, and the Cancer Prevention & Control Program – that are positioned to translate these findings into new biomarkers and therapeutic targets, thereby positively impacting diagnosis, prevention, and treatment across cancers prevalent in our catchment area.

Co-Leaders

Hamid Band, MD, PhD

Elizabeth Bruce Professor of Cancer Research, UNMC Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases
Director of the Center for Breast Cancer Research
Research focus: Molecular Control of Tyrosine Kinase Signaling: Cell Biology and translation

Send Email

Phone: 402-559-8572

Hamid Band

Jixin Dong, PhD

Professor, UNMC Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases
Research focus: Cell proliferation; prostate and pancreatic cancer

Send Email

Phone: 402-559-5596

Jixin Dong

Themes and Goals

The Cancer Biology Program is organized into three themes and goals:

Genome instability and cancer
- Discover alterations of molecular mechanisms that maintain intact genomes.
Signaling mechanisms in cancer
- Discover alterations in intracellular signaling and tumor cell-microenvironment interactions.
Cellular basis of cancer
- Using in vitro and animal models, validate cancer mechanisms, biomarkers and targets.