04/13/16  SEATTLE, Wash.

Cancer Research And Biostatistics (CRAB) and the Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University have signed a memorandum of understanding to support clinical and translational research at the Knight Cancer Institute using advanced biostatistics methods.

Through this unique collaboration, biostatisticians from CRAB, a national leader in designing, managing and analyzing therapeutic and preventive cancer clinical trials, and the Knight Cancer Institute, a pioneer in cancer precision medicine, will work side by side to support investigators through study design, analysis plan, clinical trial electronic data capture systems, data management and statistical analyses.

“Our Memorandum of Understanding with the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute builds upon an excellent existing working relationship,” said John Crowley, Ph.D., CRAB founder, world-renowned statistician and leader of the CRAB team. “I look forward to seeing the organizations collaborate together in an even more impactful way with the common goal of fighting cancer.”

Since 2011, the institutions have collaborated on a number of OHSU projects, including the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Specialized Center of Research, Beat AML and SMART (Serial Measurements of ARchitecture and Theranostics) trials.

“This partnership builds on the existing trust between both organizations,” said Motomi Mori, Ph.D., OHSU Knight Cancer Institute researcher and professor of biostatistics, OHSU/Portland State University School of Public Health and OHSU School of Medicine. “Our missions are squarely aligned in the effort to make an impact on cancer, and this collaboration will increase the translational research capability of each organization.”

“I am very excited about working more closely with our colleagues at the Knight Cancer Institute,” said Antje Hoering, Ph.D., CEO of CRAB. “Oncology is a fast-moving field and this newly-formed partnership makes us a strong team as we utilize our combined expertise and talents to contribute to cutting-edge cancer research with the ultimate goal of conquering this disease.”

This collaboration is expected to build both institutes’ capacity for data management and statistical analyses for “omics” studies, precision medicine clinical trials, and early detection intervention trials.

About Cancer Research And Biostatistics (CRAB)

CRAB is a Seattle-based non-profit organization whose mission is to help conquer cancer and other diseases through the application of biostatistical principles and innovative data management methods. CRAB provides a complete suite of cancer clinical trial services including the design of therapeutic and prevention trials, customized electronic data capture platforms, data management and statistical services from clinical protocol design to final data analysis and presentation. The SWOG statistical center is co-located at CRAB and the Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center with CRAB being responsible mostly for EDC and data management. CRAB also serves as the statistics core of the Myeloma Institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer. CRAB is also the operational home for the Pancreatic Cancer Research Team, a leading group of investigators committed to improving treatments for pancreatic cancer. For more information on CRAB visit www.crab.org .

About the Knight Cancer Institute

The Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University is a pioneer in the field of precision cancer medicine. The institute's director, Brian Druker, M.D., helped prove it was possible to shut down just the cells that enable cancer to grow. This breakthrough has made once-fatal forms of the disease manageable and transformed how cancer is treated. The OHSU Knight Cancer Institute is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center between Sacramento and Seattle – an honor earned only by the nation's top cancer centers. It is headquarters for one of the National Cancer Institute's largest research collaboratives, SWOG, in addition to offering the latest treatments and technologies as well as hundreds of research studies and clinical trials.