University of Minnesota cancer-research facility in Austin to offer tours, demos

Continuing a program started last summer, The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota-Mayo Clinic, will open its doors Friday for tours and demonstrations.  It is part of The Hormel Institute’s summer of monthly open houses to showcase its state-of-the art facility in Austin, where it hosts 11 cancer-research departments. This year’s round of open houses began in June and will conclude with another one Aug. 27. 

Those attending the event will watch a DVD about The Hormel Institute’s expansion and ongoing research, take a guided tour of the facility and view demonstrations that teach ways to prevent and control cancer. 

Last year, The Hormel Institute’s summer open houses proved highly successfully, with many people touring the building months after the completion in July 2008 of a major expansion and remodeling project. The roughly $23 million, two-year project tripled the research facility’s size and more than doubled its faculty and staff. 

Currently, about 130 people work at The Hormel Institute, compared to 60 employees in 2006. 

The Hormel Institute is a world-renowned cancer research center, specializing in research leading to cancer prevention and control. Its group of highly successful medical scientists is focused on determining the basic molecular mechanisms of cancer development to use their findings for developing new anti-cancer agents.