The Wadsworth Center supports an exceptionally large breadth of interests and activities that ultimately focus on improving public health. Many of these activities are intellectually enhanced by interactive collaborations.The Center recognizes that it takes significant effort to coordinate such interactions and offers assistance to its investigators to establish such collaborations, both within and between Wadsworth and other institutions. By providing seed funds and/or administrative assistance, the Center reduces the activation energy for developing new ideas, workgroups, or program grant applications that offer long-term benefit to the Center’s mission of public health service.
- Scientific Interest Groups (SIGs): A Center-wide goal is to develop mechanisms that foster interdisciplinary interactions among all groups at Wadsworth, which can lead to new scientific directions, solve problems, or take advantage of novel opportunities. Based on a related model at the National Institutes of Health, the Center supports a series of Scientific Interest Groups, forums that are flexible and dynamic, enabling like-minded groups to come together, discuss ideas, identify mutual interests, and move forward. These groups will form independent of division, laboratory, or service/research structures, and are not necessarily intended to last long term. Although the Center already has a long history of similar groupings, support is offered (administrative or financial) for those interactions that will benefit Wadsworth activities. Strong leadership to overcome inertia, and to establish direction and driving goals ensures success, conveying a sense of opportunity.
- Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (ACPHS): The Wadsworth Center has formed an informal alliance with the ACPHS to promote joint scientific projects. To that effect the two institutions will jointly sponsor small exploratory grant applications with the goal that these will lead to bigger projects and expanded collaborations.
- NYCAP Research Alliance: The Wadsworth Center is a member of the NYCAP research alliance. The goal of this alliance between the Albany Medical College, the University at Albany, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Wadsworth Center is to promote scientific collaborations and to leverage each institutions strength through shared resources.
- The RNA Institute: Several Wadsworth Center investigators are members of the University at Albany’s RNA Institute, and the Center is actively supporting collaborative projects between the two institutions.
- Capital Region Cancer Research (CRCR): The Capital Region Cancer Research (CRCR) group is an inter-institutional organization for the purpose of promoting cancer research interactions among different Albany area facilities and personnel. Member organizations include Wadsworth Center, SUNY-Albany, General Electric (GE), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), SUNY Polytechnic Institute, Taconic Biosciences, Inc., Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Albany Stratton VA Medical Center, and Albany Medical College. The CRCR group meets every 3 months. The main objectives of these meetings are to discuss cancer research, plan interactions, stimulate cross-discipline collaborations, and listen to formal presentations that are cancer-related and cutting-edge, all toward the ultimate goal of contributing to the cure of cancer. These meetings bring together a diverse group of cancer researchers and experts including basic research scientists, clinical research scientists, practicing cancer clinicians, cancer stem cell experts, and industry. In addition to these meetings, a cancer symposium, held once every two years, is organized by the group.