IFOM, the FIRC Institute for Molecular Oncology

IFOM is a highly technological, non-profit cancer research centre. The research conducted at IFOM aims to understand the molecular processes responsible for the onset and development of cancer. IFOM was established in 1998 by FIRC (the Italian Foundation for Cancer Research). The aim was to create a research environment where scientists from the major National scientific institutions in the Milan area (European Institute of Oncology, National Institute for Cancer Research, Mario Negri Pharmacological Research Institute, San Raffaele Biomedical Sciences Park, University of Milan) could collaborate and pool their organisational, economical and cultural resources, in order to meet the demands of modern-day science. The creation of this "network" between research institutes is the first of its kind in Italy and has made IFOM, 10 years after the beginning of its scientific programme in 2000, an internationally competitive Research Centre in molecular oncology and functional genomics. The shared research environment and the availability of cutting edge technologies have allowed IFOM scientists to obtain first-rate scientific results at the international level. IFOM has been recognised as a Centre of Excellence for Research by the Lombardy Regional Council, which also contributed to the realization of the Centre. To achieve this objective, in 2007, IFOM merged its scientific and educational activities, and its technology platforms with the European Institute of Oncology. The resulting IFOM-IEO Campus is the biggest molecular oncology research centre in Europe, with a surface area of 24,000 m2, 12,000 m2 of which are dedicated to laboratory space. The Campus hosts approximately 600 researchers, belonging to 39 research groups that collectively follow 40 lines of research.