The Core is organized to provide specific opportunities for interchange of research ideas and development of collaborative efforts. The Core is characterized by a multidisciplinary research approach based on the varying expertise of its members. Recent addition to the Core of researchers with interests in mammalian carcinogenesis now allows a powerful comparative approach to mechanisms of cancer and its prevention in lower vertebrates, higher vertebrates, and humans. The accompanying Aquatic Toxicology facility, which can accommodate 45,000 rainbow trout per year through full cancer studies, is unrivalled elsewhere in the world. Research by this Core has revealed many unique advantages of the trout for cancer research.
Fish are the appropriate species to use in researching the causes and mechanisms.
Surprisingly, a great deal can be learned with fish regarding mechanisms of human cancer and its prevention. Current progress tells us that the basic aspects of the cancer process do not appear fundamentally different at the molecular and cellular level in fish and mammals. Only the details differ, and these are interesting.