The Future of Cancer Research in Georgia

Leaders in cancer research from around the state gathered this week to review the past decade of progress and plan strategy for the future.

Among the attendees at Thursday’s American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network Georgia Research Breakfast was Nancy Paris, the head of the Georgia Center for Oncology Research and Education. Paris calls the current state of cancer research in Georgia “gratifying … but sobering.”

Paris says the federal government is giving top ratings to cancer research proposals coming out of Georgia, but that’s not translating into federal dollars, saying “There’s scientific excellence, and there’s a great need for further research, but there’s not the money there to fund these studies.”An audio version of this story

With funding from the tobacco settlement a decade ago, Georgia made strides in cancer research. But the economic downturn has slowed the progress, says Paris. Now she says her group and others are turning their attention to planning research more strategically to make the dollars available stretch as far as possible.