Ohio State’s commitment to a cancer-free world is growing in its new innovation district, where the Pelotonia Research Center is officially open. The first building to open in the university’s Carmenton District, the 305,000-square-foot facility’s features five floors, two of which are dedicated to cancer research, with new state-of-the-art spaces for the OSUCCC – James’ Pelotonia Institute for Immuno-Oncology (PIIO) and Center for Cancer Engineering. “This facility will allow us to do cutting-edge research that really can uncover fundamental principles of the immune system,” says PIIO director Zihai Li, MD, PhD. “Once we accomplish that, we can flip switches left and right to find a way to cure cancer.” The new center was named in honor of Pelotonia, the annual cycling event that has raised more than $258 million for Ohio State’s cancer research. Part of that commitment includes the PIIO, which brings together experts in immunotherapy and other fields to find new ways to harness the body’s immune system to treat, and even prevent, cancer. “This is something we all should be excited about,” Li says. “We will have dozens of principal investigators on one floor, and each one of them will be a leader in their respective fields.” The center also includes a new space for the Center for Cancer Engineering, a collaborative program focused on increasing the knowledge of cancer through technology, data analytics and more. “On the second floor, the Center for Cancer Engineering will put together physical scientists, engineers and cancer researchers in an unprecedented setting where we get to collaborate, generate new ideas and focus on advancing cancer research,” says Jonathan Song, PhD, the co-director of the Center for Cancer Engineering. The new center will also allow scientists like Song and his team to work with others throughout the building (which also features spaces dedicated to cardiology, pulmonology, neurology and more) to collaborate on new techniques and technologies that could improve patient outcomes across a spectrum of disciplines. “It’s very exciting to have this all here within the same building, not only just on the same floor, but on different levels to work together toward new creative and exciting solutions,” Song says. That collaboration could cut down on the time traditionally needed to not only create new therapies, but also to bring them to patients, according to The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center CEO John Warner, MD, MBA. “Everyone is really coming together to make this possible — collaborative interdisciplinary research to solve complex problems that can't be solved otherwise,” Warner says. “That's all going to be possible in a place like this, and what that's going to do is accelerate the timeline to take a basic discovery and turn it into something that can help a human patient.” The center’s name is a nod to the Pelotonia community — thousands of riders, volunteers, staff members and more who team up every year to help Ohio State researchers build the future of cancer care. “The programs housed within these four walls will save lives — the lives of our family members, our colleagues, our neighbors, and our friends, and the lives of people across the country and around the world. Our partnership with The James is truly unparalleled,” Pelotonia CEO Doug Ulman says. “If you're one of the more than 40,000 people who's ever ridden in Pelotonia, this is a testament to you and your tireless commitment. If you're one of the more than 700,000 donors who's ever contributed to our shared mission over the last 14 years, this building is named in your honor.”