As the university advances plans for a new, state-of-the-art Cancer Research Building, leaders say the facility will pave the way for significant discoveries to be made at the University of Iowa.

“We want to do the very best for each patient. This involves not only delivering cutting-edge care today but also making discoveries that will give patients better options tomorrow,” says Mark Burkard, director of the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center. “Research plays a critical role in advancing medicine, and cancer is an area where research is saving lives. This new building will expand our research that focuses on the unmet needs of Iowans.”

Iowa has one of the fastest-growing rates of new cancers in the country, and cancer is a priority focus area for the university. The UI received approval from the Iowa Board of Regents in September 2024 to begin early-stage planning of the new facility, which will bring together researchers from the university’s multiple health-sciences colleges.

The UI has identified the current footprint of Westlawn, 200 Newton Road, as the best location for the building, given its proximity to UI Health Care university campus, the Carver College of Medicine, and other research buildings.

The aging Westlawn is slated for removal after its final two occupants — UI Student Health and UI Health Care Child Care Center — can relocate. Plans call for student health to move to the Iowa Memorial Union, and a new child care center along Melrose Avenue is in the early stages of planning.

Collaborative approach

In these early stages of planning, representatives from each of the health sciences colleges — dentistry, nursing, medicine, public health, and pharmacy — are among those at the table to provide input on programming and design.

Jill Kolesar, dean and professor, Jean M. Schmidt Chair in Drug Discovery in the College of Pharmacy, says this collaboration also will be key to the work that takes place inside the building well into the future.

“Bringing people together across disciplines will be fundamental to groundbreaking cancer discoveries,” she says. 

Kolesar brings a unique perspective to the project, not only as a collegiate leader but also as a researcher who specializes in cancer treatment therapies. She recently received a two-year, $10 million award from Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health to develop a new approach to combating ovarian cancer. The grant will support the first clinical trial of this therapy through the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, the only cancer center in Iowa designated by the National Cancer Institute.

“Discoveries at the University of Iowa and the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center are changing the way cancer is treated, and this new building will accelerate those advances and make the University of Iowa one of the foremost centers for cancer research and treatment in the world,” Kolesar says. “Being part of the team planning for the next generation of cancer research at Iowa is really exciting to me.”