The creation of the W. M. Keck Center for Transgene Research and the Walther Cancer Research Center on the Notre Dame campus in the 1990's has thrust the University into national prominence in the related fields of molecular medicine.

The National Institutes of Health awarded the Keck Center a $9 million grant to identify the complex interactions of proteins that initiate the blood-clotting process. Biochemist and Keck director Francis J. Castellino is probing the underlying genetics of sepsis, which is the leading cause of death in hospital trauma units. Sepsis is a condition when inflammation and blood coagulation spiral out of control, leading to multiple organ failure and oftentimes, death. Victoria Ploplis, a research professor and associate director of the Keck Center, is also leading an investigation into the genetic basis for colon cancer.