The Purdue Cancer Center was recognized as an National Cancer Institute (NCI designated Cancer Center and was awarded its first NCI Cancer Center Support Grant (Core Grant) in 1978. Since 1978 the Center has been continuously funded by NCI and has undergone six competitive renewals of its Cancer Center Support Grant.

The Purdue Cancer Center is an interdisciplinary basic cancer research Center. Its mission is to promote and support multidisciplinary cancer research at Purdue University. Cancer Center members hold academic appointments in various departments and currently the seventy-nine members represent eleven departments and six colleges on the West Lafayette campus. The Purdue Cancer Center is a matrix Center with Center scientists located in various academic buildings across campus. A core of Center researchers from five departments are housed in the Hansen Life Sciences Building as are the administrative and business offices for the Center.

The scientific mission of the Center is to promote interdisciplinary cancer research at Purdue University. To accomplish its mission, the Center is organized into three scientific programs: Experimental Therapeutics and Diagnostics; Structural Biology; and Cell Growth and Differentiation. These programs form the scientific core of the Center. Our scientists collaborate across many departments to focus the most advanced biological, chemical, engineering and veterinary technologies on fighting cancer. Such collaborations generate knowledge, concentrate efforts on the most promising diagnostics and therapeutics, create additional research and funding opportunities, and help train future leaders in cancer research.

The Center administers seven shared resource facilities: Analytical Cytology; DNA Analysis; Drug Discovery; Macromolecular Crystallography; Mass Spectrometry; NMR; and Transgenic Mouse. Each facility provides critical technical expertise and support for Center research.