McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research

The McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research (also the Department of Oncology of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health) was founded by Dr. Harold P. Rusch in 1940 and was the first basic science cancer center in an academic institution in the United States.

The central mission of the McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research is twofold:

1. To pursue outstanding research programs directed toward understanding the causes and biology of cancer and the factors that regulate normal and neoplastic growth and differentiation. 
2. To provide training of the highest quality in basic cancer research at the graduate and postdoctoral levels. 

While these two goals represent the cornerstone of our activities, we also seek to provide undergraduates and medical students with a foundation in basic cancer biology and to serve the public and scientific community through our activities for national and international organizations.

During the past 65 years, more than 1300 women and men have received pre- and post-doctoral training at McArdle. Many of these alumni now hold faculty positions at universities throughout the United States and abroad, and most of the others are doing research at research institutes or in government or industry laboratories.

The current staff of the McArdle Laboratory numbers approximately 200. The 25 faculty and emeritus faculty lead 19 research groups that include 71 graduate students, 28 postdoctoral fellows, and 45 research specialists or other academic staff. Other members of the laboratory include the administrative and support personnel and many undergraduates who perform both research and support activities.