On July 31, 2007, the University of Illinois College of Medicine officially announced plans to begin construction of an approximately 20,000-square-foot cancer research facility on its campus in downtown Peoria. The cancer research expansion project is an estimated $12-million collaboration between the University of Illinois, Caterpillar Inc., OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, Methodist Medical Center, various federal, state, and local government entities, and private donors.
Recent studies and projections suggest that the proposed cancer research center will generate approximately $34 million for Peoria’s economy, including at least 25 new positions at UICOMP.
The cancer research expansion project is part of UICOMP’s vision to further develop state-of-the-art research facilities in Peoria. The proposed research center will be dedicated to the study of molecular, cellular, and genetic characteristics involved in many cancers, with an emphasis on regulating invasion, migration, blood vessel formation, and tumor growth.
|