To Faculty and Students at New Mexico State University:

In the more than 35 years I have spent studying the basic cellular processes underlying cancer, the progress has often been excruciatingly slow. As a result of that experience, optimism does not come easily to me. But something dramatic has happened in recent years. It is like assembling the first half of a 1,000-piece puzzle. At first, it goes slowly, but as the picture begins to appear from the scattered images, the finish comes quickly. The bits and pieces of knowledge that have accumulated slowly about genes and cells over the last 35 years have recently begun to take shape. We have learned that seemingly unconnected pieces of knowledge from yeast, fruit flies, mice, and humans can be combined into a coherent picture of cell biology.

During the last few decades we learned some fundamental things about cancer. Foremost, we learned that cancer is a disease of our genes. A single normal cell becomes a cancer cell as a result of mutations that change a few genes. Reading these changes became possible when the complete sequence of the human genome was reported. New technologies permit us to assemble the approximately 32,000 genes from a single cell and identify those that are different in the cancer cell. This new molecular information promises to revolutionize cancer diagnosis, treatment and prevention. We are committed to seeing these advances improve life for all cancer patients. Achieving this goal demands that we recruit new scientists, acquire new technologies, and develop partnerships at all levels.

We are very enthused about our collaboration with New Mexico State University and we support the efforts to create an infrastructure for conducting cancer research at the university. Our mutual goal is to increase knowledge and skills to address cancer disparities among minority populations. We are also dedicated to providing science education and mentorship for Hispanic and Native American students who have an interest in pursuing science-related careers. By involving members of diverse ethnic groups in research opportunities, we will be able to expand our understanding of cancer, cancer prevention, and cancer treatment so that we can "eliminate cancer and related diseases as causes of human suffering and death."

These are exciting times at New Mexico State University. We at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center are pleased to join you in developing a cancer research program.

Sincerely,

Lee Hartwell, Ph.D.

President and Director
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

Nobel Laureate, Physiology or Medicine, 2001