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Who will fight cancer? SPARTANS WILL.

A top global public research university, MSU pushes the boundaries of discovery to make a better world while providing students with life-changing opportunities. Our cancer research faculty and trainees span the Colleges of Human Medicine, Osteopathic Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Natural Sciences, Nursing, and Engineering developing interdisciplinary solutions with one common goal: deliver cutting-edge advancements to benefit cancer patients.
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Research Areas and Specializations
MSU Oncofertility scientists looking at a microscope
Exploring the reproductive future of cancer survivors.
Core Facilities and Shared Research Resources
Active Research by Cancer Type and Affilated Faculty
Hands holding a test vial
Teaming up to fight cancer.
A lung diagram with streetview inside and red effected area

Ask the Expert: How Can Your Address Affect Your Risk of Lung Cancer?

New MSU research shows that where you live can significantly affect your risk of developing and dying from lung cancer. People in rural or persistently poor communities face higher risks due to greater exposure and limited access to care.
Eunhee Yi and lab members

Chasing Circles To Cure Cancer

Assistant professor Eunhee Yi is exploring how extrachromosomal circular DNA drives cancer progression and drug resistance. Yi’s current research focuses on melanoma, an aggressive form of skin cancer. With support from the Pardee Foundation, her lab is developing a longitudinal model system to track ecDNA formation and perform multi-omics analysis to understand how it drives drug resistance. Additionally, her lab aims to identify drugs that specifically target ecDNA-containing cancer cells.
Henry Ford + MSU Cancer Resaerch Symposium Graphic

5th Annual Henry Ford + MSU Cancer Research Symposium

The 5th Annual Henry Ford + MSU Cancer Research Symposium aims to bring together researchers, clinicians, trainees, and health care professionals from Michigan State University and Henry Ford Health to explore the future of integrated cancer research.
Doug Gage, Eric Hegg, Thomas Jeitschko holding the golden goose award.

MSU's Federally Funded Cisplatin Cancer Drug Wins National Award

On Sept. 16, Michigan State University received a national honor — the 2025 Golden Goose Award for the scientific success and global impact of cisplatin, the gold standard of cancer-fighting chemotherapy treatments.
Group photo of the Burn's family in Charles Hong lab

MSU Scientists Give Spartan Family Hope Against Brain Cancer

An NIH-funded discovery at MSU may offer new hope against glioblastoma, the deadliest form of brain cancer. But cuts to federal research funding now threaten progress for families counting on breakthroughs like this.
Barnett “Barney” Rosenberg and Loretta VanCamp

MSU’s Cisplatin Cancer Drug Wins National Award

As announced today, MSU will receive a 2025 Golden Goose Award for the scientific success and global impact of cisplatin. The Golden Goose Award is meant to highlight the practical value of curiosity-driven research.
Back of person's head with wet hair

Shampoo-Like Gel Could Help Chemo Patients Keep Their Hair

Cancer fighters know that losing their hair is often part of the battle, but Michigan State University researchers have developed a shampoo-like gel that has been studied in animal models and could protect hair from falling out during chemotherapy treatment.
Close up of cervical cancer cells

Ask the Expert: How To Prevent Cervical Cancer

Julie Thomas-Beckett is a nurse practitioner who specializes in preventative and holistic care at MSU. Here, she discusses the importance of cervical cancer screenings and the latest information regarding cervical health in advance of Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month in September. 
A person in a white coat operating a microscope

How Cancer Research is Funded and What Happens When It's Cut

Cancer research in the U.S. is backed by a complex system of interdependent funding. Partners include academia, pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology start-ups, federal agencies and private foundations. These groups rely heavily on each other and, when one struggles, the entire system suffers.
The Michigan State College of Health Flint building front

Michigan State University Flint Community Cancer Consortium Launches Cancer Feasibility Study

People in Flint are concerned about elevated cancer rates, particularly multiple myeloma, and possible links to environmental exposures where they live, work, and play. For many in the community, a lack of high-quality reporting on cancer rates in the wake of the Flint water crisis can be highly distressing, worrisome, and frustrating.
Diagram of neck cancer

New $3M NIH Grant Supports Henry Ford + MSU Researchers Studying HPV-Positive Head and Neck Cancers

Researchers from Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences have been awarded a $3 million grant from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research to study new treatments for patients who have head and neck cancer caused by the human papillomavirus, or HPV.
A woman smiling and ringing a bell

American Cancer Society Grant Fuels Colorectal, Breast and Cervical Cancer Research

Four dedicated researchers from Michigan State University have received grants totaling more than $3 million from the American Cancer Society, or ACS, to find new ways to prevent, detect, treat and help patients survive colorectal, breast and cervical cancer.