Cancer remains one of the greatest health challenges throughout the world, despite years of research and tremendous advances in our understanding of biology. We now know that cancer is not a lone cell dividing uncontrollably, but an adaptive system of cells and networks that promote cancer in the host. This presentation will highlight these challenges and outline recent efforts by the National Cancer Institute and others in the area of cancer systems biology. 

Biography of Dan Gallahan: 
Dr. Gallahan is a molecular and cancer biologist with broad expertise in the fields of systems biology, breast cancer, technology development and science policy. His primary focus is the integration of multiple approaches, tools, and data sets to understanding the complexity of cancer. As Deputy Director of the Division of Cancer Biology at NCI, he helps lead the Division in its mission of supporting excellence in basic cancer biology research. He assists in the planning and implementation of the NCI’s overall efforts in genomics, proteomics, structural biology and nanotechnology, and acts as liaison with other government and commercial entities in the areas of technology and systems biology. In addition, Dr. Gallahan oversees the NCI’s Integrative Cancer Biology Program (ICBP), which is the major effort in systems biology within the NCI. This program embraces computational modeling as an integral part of cancer understanding and management.