Walker Cancer Research Institute

The Walker Cancer Research Institute (WCRI) is a small American cancer research organization consisting of two laboratories located in the states of Florida and Michigan and principle organizational offices in Maryland. WCRI and the affiliated project National Cancer Research Center (NCRC) were incorporated as nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organizations in 1981.

Research
Research by WCRI is conducted at its two laboratories. The Florida lab, called the Natural Products Laboratory, was established in 1992. WCRI is currently listed among the industry and research partners of the Florida A&M University&mdash;Florida State University College of Engineering. The Michigan lab, called the Experimental Anti-Cancer Drug Synthesis Laboratory, is located on the campus of Wayne State University and was established in 1990. The founder of WCRI was Evan Harris Walker, formerly of NASA. Dr. Walker's discovery of time delay toxin activation (TDTA) chemotherapy was a precipitating event in the formation of the Institute and formed the basis of a collaborative relationship with Battelle, which began in 1988. At least one patent has been granted to the Institute, having been filed in 2002 and awarded in 2004.,

Fundraising
Charitable organizations differ in and are often compared on the basis of their methods of fundraising and the percentage of funds going toward primary mission aims versus administrative overhead. They also differ in the manner in which they treat donor lists and contact information. Information available from 2000–2003 indicates that WCRI applies approximately 40% of funds collected to program goals, such as research and public education; the remaining 60% of funds raised were expended primarily on expenses incurred in raising funds. Fundraising for WCRI is conducted in part through the NCRC project via direct-mail campaigns. The mailing list utilized by NCRC for fundraising has been made available for purchase from mailing list broker Response Unlimited. WCRI has also raised funds under the name National Breast Cancer Research Center.