Director’s Message

The legacy of the UAB O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center was built on a culture of scientific discovery and clinical excellence. Since it was established in 1971, the Cancer Center has been continuously funded for over fifty years and has become a world-renowned institution for cancer research, cancer care and the delivery of that care to all people.

Through the compassion, dedication and innovation of our physicians and scientists, patients at the UAB O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center have access to the most advanced therapies, clinical trials and treatments available today, right here in the Magic City of Birmingham.

The full impact of our multidisciplinary approach to cancer research and patient care extends throughout the Deep South and across Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas, where the Cancer Center serves as the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in the four-state area and one of only 57 such centers with this designation in the country.

We now live in an era during which new targeted therapies for cancer are coming online rapidly. The effectiveness of these therapies in treating otherwise untreatable cancers has stimulated cancer research, leading to a broadening of our understanding of cancer and new cancer therapies at unprecedented rates.

Our team of more than 400 clinicians and researchers are united in our commitment to the Cancer Center’s ultimate goal: eliminating cancer as a public health problem. In service of this vision, we hope to transform the field of oncology and, more importantly, the lives of our patients by translating cutting-edge research into the most advanced treatments for clinical care.

At this exciting time, as we stand on the cusp of a paradigm shift in cancer research, we aim to successfully treat cancers that, just yesterday, were untreatable. The greatest measure of success will be the people of Birmingham, as well as Alabama as a whole, viewing the UAB O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center as a place where patients have access to the very best cancer care – in addition to our team viewing O’Neal as the very best place to work in the fight against cancer.

Sincerely,

Barry P. Sleckman, M.D., Ph.D.
Director
UAB O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center