TGen's Clinical Translational
Research Division

The mission of TGen's Clinical Translational Research Division, led by Dr. Daniel Von Hoff is to prevent and cure cancer. To achieve this, the PCRT brings together researchers who work in laboratories and physicians who see patients. This complementary partnership allows physician-scientists to take discoveries made in the lab and apply them to the patients they see.

Dr. Von Hoff is one of the world’s leading pioneers in this bench-to- bedside approach to medicine.

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of death from cancer in the United States. More than 37,000 people nationwide will die from pancreatic cancer this year. The overall five-year survival is less than 4%. This dismal picture of pancreatic cancer is mainly due to the lack of early diagnosis and effective treatment for patients with advanced disease.

TGen investigators are partners in inter-institutional, cross-functional research efforts to: (1) identify and validate biomarkers of diagnostic value, as well as those that constitute new drug targets in pancreatic cancer; (2) identify and optimize new agents that affect the activity of the targets (3) perform in vitro and in vivo evaluation of the agents, and take the most promising ones to clinical trials in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.