AUSTIN — The Hormel Institute plans to nearly double in size next summer, and officials hope the larger facility will expand the Institute's role in finding foods or natural substances that stop, slow or cure cancer.
The Institute, a research unit of the University of Minnesota, focuses on just one part of the complex research done on cancer around the world, said Dr. Brian Herman, vice president for research at the University. Instead of trying to cure cancers once they start, the Institute looks at foods and compounds that prevent cancer, he said.
"They are one of the few that is really focused in this area," he said.
The Institute, which opened in 1942, initially focused on fats and lipids, Herman said. Researchers at the Hormel Institute were the first to identify the cardiovascular benefit of Omega 3 fats, he said.
Now, the Institute has shifted from fats to cancer and will be able to do even more with the new focus, he said.
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The Institute, on the north side of Interstate 90 and across from Hormel Foods, covers about 79,000 square feet. That will nearly double with next year's $27 million expansion. The Minnesota Legislature contributed $13.5 million to the project in 2012, and the Hormel Foundation said it will match that.
The expansion will increase the number of labs from 22 to 37 and create five core labs where researchers share instruments that are too big or expensive to have each lab have one.
Work should be done in about two years, and the university will expand the number of researchers and associates from 120 to about 240, Herman said.
The Institute is working on very basic research that tries to understand how cancer works and also determine what kinds of diet or lifestyle changes will stop the cancers.
The Institute also is developing drugs with its patented discoveries, said Dr. Ann Bode, associate director.
"These discoveries are small molecule inhibitors of genes and proteins found predominantly in cancer tissues and cells," she said. "Our goal with drug development is for local commercialization so the economic benefits remain in our community."
Herman said the work in Austin "aligns very nicely" with university cancer centers in the Twin Cities. Though not in a big city, the Hormel Institute is very well known for its work nationally and internationally, he said.
Hormel Institute research is "part of that overall work going on in understanding how cancer occurs" and how to prevent it, he said. "They are slowly adding to the list of things" that help. Eventually, you will see less cancer among those who follow Hormel's guidelines, he said.
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It has to work with other groups because "cancer is a very smart disease," Herman said. You need to attack it in many different ways to affect its ability to grow.
Fighting cancer requires a lot of cooperation and collaboration, he said. "The Hormel Institute is a good example of that."
