the Ludwig Institute

The Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research Ltd (LICR) was established in 1971 by the American business magnate Mr. Daniel K. Ludwig , who bequeathed a substantial proportion of his estate for the endowment of the Institute.


Key Facts

  • The largest international non-profit institute dedicated to understanding and controlling cancer.
  • A non-profit institute that conducts long-term basic and clinical research programs with approximately 800 scientists, clinicians, and support staff
  • Brings together recognized leaders in many areas of science and oncology, and one of twenty international organizations recognized as producing research articles of extremely high impact.
  • Takes responsibility for identifying and characterizing the therapeutic utility of discoveries made in its laboratories by sponsoring and conducting its own clinical trials.

LICR is now the largest international academic institute dedicated to understanding and controlling cancer, with nine Branches in seven countries across Australasia, Europe, and North and South America, and numerous Affiliates in many other countries. More importantly, LICR is actively bridging the gap between the laboratory and the clinic, as set out in Mr. Ludwig's vision, by sponsoring and conducting its own clinical trials in order to investigate the therapeutic utility of its research discoveries.


Read the Nature News article, found in its 453 issue (June 2008), discussing methods used by the Ludwig Institute to produce successful research.


As an important supplement to the Institute's work, Mr. Ludwig also established a trust, known as the Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Fund for Cancer Research, which provides financial support for cancer research at six leading academic institutions in the USA: Pritzker School of Medicine (Chicago, IL), Harvard Medical School (Boston, MA), Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA), Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (New York, NY), and Stanford University Medical Center (Stanford, CA).