With a mission to understand how nutrition and metabolism impact the body’s ability to control cancer, four leading research institutions have united under the Weill Cancer Hub East, an innovative, collaborative partnership that aims to transform cancer treatment.

The initiative connects world-class experts from Weill Cornell Medicine, Princeton University, The Rockefeller University and the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research to enhance a therapeutic strategy known as immunotherapy – harnessing a patient’s own immune cells to treat cancer. Immunotherapy holds much promise, but its effectiveness varies in different people and against different types of cancer.

The Weill Cancer Hub East was established with a transformational $50 million gift from the Weill Family Foundation, directed by visionary benefactors Joan and Sanford I. “Sandy” Weill, and matched with philanthropy from each partner institution that together will total more than $125 million. The initiative seeks to break down institutional barriers and unite top experts in cancer biology, cancer clinical trials, immunology, nutrition and metabolism to drive pioneering, cross-field collaboration that pushes the boundaries of scientific discovery.

Over the next decade, the Weill Cancer Hub East will marshal multidisciplinary teams to explore the complex relationship between solid tumors and the environment in which they form and grow. Their investigations will leverage the complementary strengths of each research institution to illuminate how the food we eat and the beneficial microbes that help metabolize that food influence the effectiveness of cancer treatments such as immunotherapy.

The hub will also evaluate how emerging therapeutics, including a class of diabetes and anti-obesity drugs called GLP-1 agonists, might impact cancer progression and treatment. 

“The Weill Cancer Hub East will offer doctors and scientists a tremendous opportunity to revolutionize the treatment of cancer, a disease that complicates so many lives,” said Sandy Weill, founder of the Weill Family Foundation and chair emeritus of the Weill Cornell Medicine Board of Fellows. “With the best minds in the field armed with the most advanced research techniques, the Weill Cancer Hub East will seek to elevate immunotherapy and improve patient care for people battling cancer. Joan and I could not be more excited about the endless possibilities of this special partnership—investment in science and medicine is our labor of love.”

Read the full story on the Weill Cornell Medicine website.

Alyssa Sunkin-Strube is assistant director of editorial at Weill Cornell Medicine.