Spring/Summer 2026

Welcome to the June issue of FOCUS magazine. It seems that every time I write this column, I use boastful adjectives of impactful, groundbreaking, and innovative to describe the recent advances of the Institute. I am not known for bombastic statements and certainly not for anything other than the strictest, most objective testimonials of life at our Wistar Nation.

This issue of FOCUS magazine is no exception. Over the past few months, the Institute reached a broad range of transformative milestones in all its goals. In the late Fall of 2025, we received word from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the successful renewal of our Cancer Center designation, once again with an Exceptional rating. Once again because this is the third time in a row that Wistar is recognized with an Exceptional impact score, the best possible score by the NCI.

As an aside, our NCI designation as Cancer Center is now in year 57: for more than half a century, and continuing unabated to this day, Wistar has pushed the boundary of knowledge, thinking out of the box, challenging dogmas and creating discoveries that changed the science and medicine of the future.

Then, past the celebrations and the ribbon cutting photos inaugurating our two newest Centers for Advanced Therapeutics and HIV Cure and Viral Diseases, we rolled up our sleeves and got to work. In the matter of just a few months, both Centers made astonishing strides, recruited outstanding scientists and positioned themselves for a future of ‘first and best’ in research and innovation. But it is the spirit and the culture behind the two new Centers that are quintessential Wistar.

Taking a page from the playbook of both our Cancer Center and Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center, the two new Centers are built on collaborative growth, synergy and a unique model of communal sharing of equipment, approaches, technologies, and most importantly, ideas. And how is it possible that an organization like Wistar, one that does not confer degrees and is not listed as a.edu, transforms the regional and national landscape of STEM education, trains the next generation of scientists and creates the workforce of the future in academia and industry?

And, yet this is exactly what happened. Building on a decades-long and luminous track record of success, especially towards disadvantaged students, our education and training Center has now reached new heights of impact, constructing innovative public-private partnerships, aligning a collaborative network of multiple community colleges in the tri-state region, and receiving coveted federal funding to create opportunities for undergraduate students all across the US.

Against this backdrop of meaningful growth, transformative impact and national and international recognition, what’s next for our Wistar Nation?

Nobody can predict the future, but we know that we will not stop, sit content of our successes, and ‘go with the flow’. Instead, our Wistar Nation will be here to pursue the next wave of discovery, the next dogma to rewrite and the next student to inspire and give dreams to. And, along the way, we will keep reminding everyone that science is an exhilarating journey and the only answer to humanity’s biggest challenges and obstacles.

But against this backdrop of unprecedented growth and the promise of a healthier tomorrow through rigorous research, we are not oblivious to the deep, far-reaching challenges that science (and scientists) face today. We recognize that public trust in what we do, and who we are, is at an all-time low. We see a polarized society that seems to devalue some of the greatest achievements in science and medicine, where biomedical research evokes diffidence, suspicion of unbound profit, unmitigated conflict of interest and even dishonesty.

It is against this backdrop that nothing could be more necessary than our mission today. Our new (and “old”) Wistar research Centers are not on anyone’s payroll; they are not rigid or bureaucratic entities. They are not isolated ivory towers. Instead, they are poles of collaboration and synergy, conduits for the unfettered exchange of ideas, and vehicles for the education and mentoring of the next generation of scientists. They embody our institutional soul of freedom, freedom to discover, freedom to challenge dogmas, and freedom to pursue one’s ideas without boundaries or constraints. They are there to find solutions for humanity’s biggest problems.

We look forward to seeing our new Wistar Centers blossom, attract new talents, deliver innovation and transform our region through scientific advances, collaboration and training. And along the way, we look forward to seeing our Wistar Centers infuse optimism, rebuild public trust, and contribute to a healthier tomorrow for everyone.