Director's Cut

Director's message

This month, we’re excited to share major milestones: the public launch of It’s About Time: The Campaign for the UMMC Cancer Center and Research Institute, which was propelled to $100 million by multiple gifts including $10 million from the Gertrude C. Ford Foundation.

UMMC Cancer Center and Research Institute announces public phase of $125M campaign

A vision years in the making is moving closer to reality. UMMC has reached $100 million toward its $125 million goal to build a new Cancer Center and Research Institute, a milestone made possible by generous early supporters such as the Gertrude C. Ford Foundation, which announced a $10 million gift Monday.

Study explores insulin resistance link to cancer risk

As the Cancer Center and Research Institute continues to expand its research impact in cancer biology and translational medicine, investigators are advancing the center’s vision of understanding the complex biological links between metabolic diseases and cancer. Recent research from the laboratory of Dr. Jawed Siddiqui, a CCRI faculty member, has shed new light on the relationship between insulin resistance and cancer development.

Anne Travis, right, president and CEO of the Bower Foundation, presents Dr. LouAnn Woodward, vice chancellor for health affairs, with a $10 million check for the UMMC Cancer Center and Research Institute.

Bower Foundation makes $10M gift to campaign for UMMC Cancer Center and Research Institute

The Bower Foundation has made the largest single gift in its history, a transformative $10 million investment in It's About Time: The Campaign for the UMMC Cancer Center and Research Institute.

The Oliver family includes, from left, Annie, Candace, Kent and Charlotte.

Transforming care through laughter: Olivers make $500K gift to CCRI

A life-changing diagnosis of multiple myeloma led Kent and Candace Oliver to make a $500,000 commitment to help other cancer patients in the state through the Cancer Center and Research Institute at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

The long-term commitment of Dr. Caroline Compretta, assistant vice chancellor for research, to health equity, community partnerships and research has landed her in the top echelon of academic achievers.

Compretta earns 2026 SEC Faculty Achievement Award

A career defined by service, visionary leadership and measurable impact has placed Dr. Caroline Compretta, assistant vice chancellor for research, among the Southeastern Conference’s most distinguished academic leaders.

She is a recipient of the prestigious 2026 SEC Faculty Achievement Award, which recognizes faculty whose work leaves an enduring imprint on students, colleagues and institutions through excellence in teaching, research and service.

Compretta said the recognition is both humbling and deeply meaningful.

Recent publications

Research by Dr. Muna Talafha, pathology resident; John Ligon, UMMC medical student; Dr. Varsha Manucha, professor of pathology and section director for the Division of Cytopathology; and Dr. John Henegan, CCRI associate director of clinical research and an associate professor of hematology and oncology; has been published in the International Journal of Surgical Pathology.