The Leroy T. Canoles Jr. Cancer Research Center is named in honor of Norfolk lawyer, community leader and philanthropist Leroy T. "Buddy" Canoles Jr., who served for years on the board of Portsmouth-based Beazley Foundation. The Beazley Foundation has been a generous supporter of EVMS.

The center is dedicated to translational research studies that lead directly to improved care. The Leroy T. Canoles Jr. Cancer Research Center brings clinicians and scientists together in one place, enabling collaborations that serve as a conduit between the laboratory and the treating physician's office.

Our researchers and specialists work diligently to speed the development of new tools and discoveries that will improve lives in Hampton Roads and beyond. Success in these endeavors means improvement in care for the more than 1.5 million people in the U.S. — 34,000 in Virginia — who will find out this year that they have cancer

From the center's home on the fourth floor of the school's new education and research building, our world-class scientists will expand research into new diagnostic and therapeutic tools. Studies such as those at The Leroy T. Canoles Jr. Cancer Research Center will vastly improve a treating physician's ability to find the best course of treatment for each individual patient.

By improving the way cancer is diagnosed and treated, the survival rate increases, and so does the hope that we can beat this disease once and for all.