AICR Milestones

AICR founded to increase awareness of the dietcancerlink described in the landmark NationalAcademy of Sciences report, Diet, Nutritionand Cancer. First AICR dietary healthguidelines developed.

Dec 28, 1982

AICR begins funding laboratory research andawards its first research grants.

Dec 28, 1983

AICR awards first of several education grants tothe Vincent T. Lombardi Cancer Research Centerat Georgetown University Medical Center tosupport the startup of the Breast Health CareResource Center.

Dec 28, 1984

AICR’s free newsletter, which is mailed quarterlyto supporters, reaches one million subscribers.

Dec 28, 1985

Much of what we know today about how and whyactivity lowers cancer risk can be traced to thelaboratory of Dr. Henry Thompson, who receivesthe first of a series of AICR grants in 1986 toexplore his then-radical theory that the frequencyand intensity of exe

Dec 28, 1986

AICR supports novel research on soy and cancer,with a research grant to Dr. Steven Barnes,helping stimulate increased government (NCI)funding for research in this area.

Dec 28, 1987

AICR starts funding groundbreaking research onbroccoli by Dr. Paul Talalay. His lab will go on topublish over 200 papers with AICR support, andhis work will inspire an international groundswell ofinterest in the anti-cancer activity of broccoli andother c

Dec 28, 1988

Dr. Michael Wargovich finds that naturallyoccurring components of onions and garlic canstop the growth of cancer at several different stages.He receives an AICR grant to help him translatethat knowledge from the lab into the clinic.

Dec 28, 1989

AICR convenes its first Scientific ResearchConference, offering a forum where investigatorsin the still-emerging field of diet-cancer researchcan discuss and debate their exciting results.

Dec 28, 1990

AICR’s affiliate the World Cancer Research Fundfounded to take the organization’s urgentmission international.

Dec 28, 1991

Dr. Stephen Zeisel’s work with the nutrient cholinehas paved the way for advances in the field ofnutrigenomics that may soon lead to personalizeddiets for cancer prevention. In 1992, he receivedan AICR grant to explore the role of cholinedeficiency in liv

Dec 28, 1992

Researchers at the University of California at Davisreceive AICR funding to study the effects of dietshigh in folate versus diets deficient in folate onlung cancer; it is among the first research toaddress itself to the folate-cancer link, an area thathas

Dec 28, 1993

AICR provides core grant funding for The ChinaStudy, a seminal joint project between Cornell,Oxford and the People’s Republic of China led byT. Colin Campbell, Richard Peto and Junshi Chen.

Dec 28, 1994

AICR/WCRF publishes its first landmark expertreport: Food, Nutrition and the Prevention ofCancer: a Global Perspective, which gathers andinterprets the available research on diet andcancer. In the wake of the report, AICR updates itsdiet and health guidel

Dec 28, 1997

AICR translates the research findings of itsexpert report into the New American Plate — asimple, visual tool that has gone on to help millionsof Americans make small, everyday changes forlower cancer risk.

Dec 28, 1999

AICR/WCRF enters a partnership with theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill toestablish a center for the study of diet, nutritionand cancer. Establishes a distinguishedprofessorship as a first step in the process.

Dec 28, 2000

AICR/WCRF launches the Marilyn GentryFellowship Program at UNC to encourage excellentyoung researchers to continue their career in thearea of nutrition and cancer

Dec 28, 2001

To offer the nation’s growing cancer survivorshipcommunity direct access to expert advice and themost up-to-date information on how to lower risk ofrecurrence, AICR holds its first Cancer SurvivorSeminar in New York City. In the years to come,AICR will ta

Dec 28, 2002

AICR brings the emerging research on thelink between obesity and increased cancerrisk to the attention of the American public for thefirst time, through a coordinated media andeducation campaign.

Dec 28, 2003

Green Tea, Obesity, Inactivity

Sep 30, 2004

Grants are awarded to investigators studying topics
on the cutting edge of cancer research such as
green tea’s ability to keep breast cancer from
spreading to the bones, the role of obesity and
inactivity in prostate cancer and the compound
resveratrol’s role in preventing many different kinds
of cancer.

The AICR/WCRF Institute for the Advanced Study of Diet, Nutrition and Cancer opens at the Universityof North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Dec 28, 2005

Dr. Linda DeGraffenreid finds that the kind ofomega-3s found in fatty fish can slow the progressionof prostate cancer while Dr. Elaine Hardmandiscovers that omega-3s in walnuts can slow thegrowth of breast cancer cells. Both of theseadvances are made poss

Dec 28, 2006

AICR/WCRF ensures that its advice will be basedon the most up-to-date research by establishingthe Continuous Update Project, which will constructand maintain the largest database of its kindanywhere in the world and release periodic reportsthat re-evaluat

Dec 28, 2008

AICR/WCRF publishes its cancer preventionpolicy report, Policy and Action for CancerPrevention placing the recommendations of the 2007expert report in a broad, societal context. Launchedat an international event in London on February 26and presented to th

Dec 28, 2009

With an AICR grant, Dr. Randal Wada reveals that aform of vitamin A is able to “switch on” a gene thatcauses neuroblastoma tumor cells to grow intonormal nerve cells. This finding may soon changehow we treat neuroblastoma, leukemia and manyother cancers a

Dec 28, 2010

AICR/WCRF publishes its second expert report,Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and thePrevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective — themost comprehensive book ever published on thelinks between food, nutrition, physical activity andcancer prevention. In t

Nov 28, 2011

AICR joins with global partners to bring internationalattention to the growing crisis of non-communicablediseases at a rare, high-level summit of worldhealth officials.

Dec 28, 2011