The McArdle Lab was founded in 1940 by a legacy from the estate of Michael McArdle, a Wisconsin-born inventor and engineer, who became the president of the Sunbeam Corporation (Chicago). The current building was erected in 1964 with the help of the founder and first Director, Harold Rusch. . It was the first academic Institute nationwide to be dedicated to cancer research in the US. Many of the principles of chemical and viral carcinogenesis were established by investigators at the McArdle lab; these include Elizabeth and James Miller, Van Potter and Howard Temin. Howard Temin was awarded the Nobel Prize for his findings in 1975. The McArdle is an important basic research department in the UW Comprehensive Cancer Center. This department has a commitment to educational excellence, with 70% of our more than 900 graduates conducting research in academia. The philosophy has mid-Western standards of collegiality and collaboration, and visitors always remark upon the open friendly manner of our town and University.
Graduate programs with related interests represented in the Department: