By Michael Caligiuri, MD Friends, colleagues and community supporters … Ohio State’s time is now. There is so much momentum building both within and about our cancer program. Important people and organizations across the United States are taking notice of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center’s meaningful contributions and thought leadership in cancer research. There is no question that we are solidifying our reputation and mark on the national map for conducting cancer research that translates into more effective treatments. There are so many positive developments to celebrate – a brand new cancer hospital, more than $100 million raised for cancer research through Pelotonia, dozens of top cancer faculty recruits in the past 10 years, the launch of the Oncology Research Information Exchange Network (ORIEN) with Moffitt Cancer Center … the list is long. Nationally, oncology leaders have taken notice of this progress in cancer research and cancer care happening here at Ohio State. Just recently we received two very high profile, national validations of our growing institutional stature: Our re-designation as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and my personal appointment as president-elect of The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the world’s oldest and largest organization dedicated to cancer research.  NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center Designation NCI designation as a comprehensive cancer center is the highest honor bestowed to a cancer program in the United States. It provides an external and expert validation of the quality of an institution’s cancer research. The designation involves both a qualitative scale — with “exceptional” being the highest rating possible — as well as a numeric scale from 10 to 100, with lower scores being better. Very few cancer centers, however, are able to say that they received both the highest qualitative score (exceptional) and a perfect score of 10. What an amazing accomplishment and testament to the wonderful work our faculty, staff and students are doing every single day. AACR President-Elect I am personally humbled and honored to be selected as president-elect of AACR, but I am even more thrilled about the spotlight this appointment will put on the momentum taking place at Ohio State in cancer. We know we are doing meaningful cancer research and have a solid vision toward achieving a cancer-free world, but now the WORLD will know. AACR is the largest and oldest cancer research organization in the world, with more than 35,000 members in 104 countries working to prevent and cure cancer through research, education, communication, and collaboration. As president-elect (2016-2017) and then president (2017-2018) I will have the opportunity to travel across the world to dozens of conferences attended by leading cancer minds and government officials to talk about the importance of cancer research funding as well as the great work taking place right here in Columbus, Ohio. And all of this will happen in an era of unprecedented collaboration across government, academia and the private sector. None of this could happen without each and every one of you – who make advancement toward our vision of creating a cancer-free world a priority every single day. Whether you are a patient volunteering for an experimental drug trial, an oncologist working 12-hour clinic days, a researcher scratching for funding to explore a truly novel idea or a community volunteer or donor using your unique talents or resources to provide support for our research mission. Thank you for everything you have and will do to make Columbus, Ohio, a hub of cancer innovation that will ultimately play an integral role in creating a cancer-free world.