Where Cancer Research Meets Engineering Innovations
The Cancer Center at Illinois unites world-class faculty who uncover fundamental knowledge, innovate new technologies, and enable cancer-free lives. Our interdisciplinary expertise in science and engineering, exceptional facilities, and novel educational experiences are changing the way we take on cancer.
Mission
Initiate and harness the combined power of engineering and basic sciences to transform cancer research, detection, and treatment.
Vision
Our vision is to be a national hub for cancer science, engineering, and technology with transdisciplinary collaboration and coordination for research and education.
What We Do
- Inspire groundbreaking cancer research and technological advances using unique campus strengths in science and engineering.
- Mobilize faculty, staff, and students across campus to focus attention on cancer.
- Catalyze large multidisciplinary projects — including program project grants, training programs, and centers.
- Innovate new educational programs for students, professionals, and the general public.
- Forge multidisciplinary ties on campus to enhance research and education.
- Partner with clinical centers and companies to drive translation and achieve economic impact while building alliances with external partners.
Our History
The Cancer Center at Illinois began in 2011 as the Cancer Community, led by current Director Rohit Bhargava and a group of over 50 Illinois faculty. These initial members organized regular activities and enabled interactions among faculty through symposia, workshops, and thematic research groups. Within a decade, the community had grown to over one hundred Illinois faculty members, several hundred postdoctoral researchers, and Illinois students. Since then, the CCIL has sustained progress, including membership growth, initiation of research and education programs, regular symposia, increased collaboration, and shared resource growth.
As a result, the CCIL has made significant progress in research, cancer funding, and faculty hiring across the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The goal then and now is to unite biologists and technologists, behavioral scientists and computational scientists, chemists, and engineers—all with one mission: to relieve the burden of cancer.
2011
Cancer Community formed
2014
Education programs launched
2016
Cancer research programs established
2017
External Advisory Committee established
2018
Established as a campuswide research institute
2022
Planning initiated for new building