HISTORY AND ACHIEVEMENTS
Our Story: Funding Excellence in Cancer Research
A national 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in 1968, Cancer Research and Treatment Fund (CR&T) is a driving force in cancer research and treatment. Blood cancer research is our primary focus, but we believe that advances in this field can lead to important breakthroughs and a better understanding and treatment of all forms of cancer. For more than five decades, CR&T has funded the most promising physician-scientists, equipping them with resources to advance the treatment of blood cancers, including the myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), leukemia, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and multiple myeloma. We have also supported research into other common cancers, including breast, lung, and prostate cancer. We have invested in critical basic and clinical research projects.
CR&T-funded investigators are aggressively pursuing biological, pharmacological, and molecular solutions to key questions that enable us to understand cancer. We recognize that this multidisciplinary approach offers the greatest promise of effective new therapies and, ultimately, cures.
Bringing Advances in Research to Cancer Patients
In 2000, CR&T was instrumental in establishing a Center for the Study of Leukemia and Myeloproliferative Neoplasms at Weill Cornell Medical College, a leading institution for cancer research in New York City. On February 18, 2014, with a $3.7 million inaugural gift from CR&T, the Center was renamed the Richard T. Silver, MD Myeloproliferative Neoplasm (MPN) Center and reformulated as a translational research and treatment center. CR&T continues to provide significant funding to the Silver Center, with the goal of building the world’s leading center dedicated to research into the MPNs, a group of rare blood cancers. Bringing laboratory results to patients and patient issues to the research lab, the Silver MPN Center generates cutting-edge discoveries that improve the health and quality of life of people with MPNs.
Funding Cancer Research: Innovative. Agile. Experienced.
CR&T has developed a reputation as an extremely independent and agile funding organization. We intentionally avoid layers of bureaucracy so we can move swiftly and decisively, rapidly delivering funding for promising new cancer treatments.
Over the past 57 years, we have invested more than $18 million in research that has contributed to major advances in the fight against cancer. Thanks to the generosity of our supporters and friends, CR&T-funded investigators have:
- Conducted the initial clinical studies leading to the FDA’s approval of imatinib (Gleevec), a revolutionary drug used to treat chronic myeloid leukemia;
- Participated in the development of new therapies for Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma;
- Contributed to the understanding of how and why breast cancers spread, and to the development of new breast cancer treatments;
- Identified the processes of blood cell formation, leading to new treatments that block blood vessel growth in both blood and solid tumor cancers;
- Helped discover the molecular mechanism that causes some patients to be resistant to ibrutinib, an important drug used to treat mantle cell leukemia; and
- Contributed to the use of interferon alpha and other biologics in treating the myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs).
You can read more about our research achievements here.
Funding Research at World-Class Cancer Centers
CR&T has been a major source of funding for researchers on the frontlines of clinical research, awarding grants to investigators at such centers of excellence as Johns Hopkins University Medical Center, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and Weill Cornell Medicine.
The Next 50 Years
Our history provides the background for our work and mission, but history isn’t nearly as important as the next breakthrough in cancer treatment and research. We invite you to make a donation and become a part of our story as we move forward together on the road to a cure.
In Loving Memory of CR&T Founder, Richard T. Silver, MD
January 18, 1929 – April 17, 2026
Richard T. Silver, MD, an esteemed, pioneering physician-researcher whose career with Weill Cornell spanned 8 decades, died on April 17, 2026. He was 97 years old. Dr. Silver was Professor Emeritus of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM), past Attending Physician, The New York Presbyterian Hospital, and Director Emeritus of the Richard T. Silver, MD Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (MPNs) Center, WCM, established by his patients. He was a principal investigator and
vice (and acting) chairman for years of a large, National Cancer Institute sponsored cooperative cancer chemotherapy group. He was especially known for introducing interferon for treating MPNs. Because of his research in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), he was selected as an initial investigator in the first trials of imatinib for treating CML.
He also developed and popularized the use of the bone marrow biopsy technique now used worldwide for diagnosing hematologic disorders, publishing a landmark textbook in 1970, The Morphology of the Blood and Marrow in Clinical Practice.
He trained in internal medicine, hematology and oncology at Cornell-NYPH and the National Cancer Institute. He helped establish a residency training program at the University of Bahia, Salvador, Brazil as a Visiting Fulbright Professor. In Brazil, he journeyed to the Mato Grosso studying blood groups of an indigenous community of the Upper Xingu River, and published results. This led to his election as a Fellow of the Explorers Club, where he held numerous committee positions, including membership on the Board of Directors.
In 1968, he founded the Cancer Research & Treatment Fund (CR&T), emphasizing innovative blood cancer research, believing it would lead to breakthroughs and better understanding of the biology and treatment of all forms of cancer. Since then, CR&T has awarded more than $17 million in grants.
He mentored residents and fellows with great enthusiasm; many established successful careers as investigators and practitioners.
Active into his 90s, Dr. Silver wrote or co-authored 332 peer-reviewed papers, 4 books, 46 book chapters, and countless abstracts for national and international meetings. He held 12 distinguished visiting professorships. He convened and co-chaired 16 International Congresses on the Myeloproliferative Neoplasms. He was awarded many national and international honors. In addition to the Silver MPN Center, the Richard T. Silver Distinguished Professor of Hematology and Medical Oncology and the Richard T. Silver Visiting Professor were named in recognition of his contributions at WCM. He received a Lifetime Academic Achievement – Dedication and Service Award from the Dean of WCM and a Special Achievement Award from its Alumni Association. He served as Life Member, Cornell University Council and was a past president and Senior Advisor of the Weill Medicine Alumni Association.
He was an accomplished clarinetist. He and his wife endowed the Barbara and Richard T. Silver ’50, MD ’53 Associate Professorship in the Department of Music, Cornell University, and the Barbara and Richard T. Silver ’50, MD ’53 Wind Symphony.
He is survived by his beloved wife of more than 60 years, Barbara, son Adam, granddaughters Stella and Isla, nephews Tom and Jack, niece Nancy Schlossberg, and numerous family members. His brother Norman predeceased him.
If you would like to share a personal note or reflection in memory of Dr. Silver, you are warmly invited to do so here. CR&T will privately share your messages with Dr. Silver’s family.
Memorial contributions may be made to Cancer Research & Treatment Fund at https://www.crt.org/donate/