Our Story
The Cancer Research and Treatment Fund (CR&T) is a driving force in cancer research and treatment. Founded in 1968, we are a not-for-profit fund that is committed to the belief that advances in blood cancer research lead to important breakthroughs, and a better understanding of the biology and treatment of all forms of cancer.
In 2000, CR&T and the generosity of donors were instrumental in the establishment of the Center for the Study of Leukemia and Myeloproliferative Neoplasms at Weill Cornell Medical College, a leading institution for cancer research. More recently, we have been involved with the breakthrough discoveries of Gleevec and now the JAK2 enzyme cancer marker .
In 2012, CR&T began funding the Richard T. Silver Myeloproliferative Neoplasm Center at Weil Cornell Medical College, the successor to the Center for the Study of Leukemia and Myelproliferative Neoplasms at Weill Cornell Medical College. The center was dedicated in a special ceremony on February 18, 2014, and serves as a translational research and treatment center, engaging in cutting edge discoveries surrounding MPNs.
CR&T played a pivotal role in establishing the Silver MPN Center. In addition to contributing a $3.7 million gift, the Center is named after CR&T’s founder, Dr. Richard T. Silver. Dr. Andrew Schafer, former Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, has been appointed as the Center’s Director.
We have achieved these successes by aggressively pursuing biological, pharmacological and molecular solutions to understand cancer, and to design drugs and diagnostic tools based on new knowledge—providing critical resources for a multidisciplinary approach that offers the greatest promise against all forms of cancer.
CR&T will mark its 50th Anniversary in 2018. For nearly 50 years, the organization has been a major source of financial support for researchers on the frontlines of clinical cancer research at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, located at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. We have also awarded grants for research at Johns Hopkins University Medical Center, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
