This week was largely dominated by the AACR meeting held at the Washington Convention Center. I got to as many posters and presentations as I could, but we had so many that it was impossible for any one person to be everywhere. So if I didn’t make it to your presentation, please accept my apologies. Karen Mallet told me that we had more media hits than any other cancer center at the AACR meeting. This is a testament not only to her good work, but to the wonderful material that our scientists presented. Thanks to everyone who helped spread the word about Lombardi through their excellent presentations.
Mike Pishvaian had a poster on Wednesday morning and I expected he would be lonely because it was the “getaway morning.” However, when I stopped by to say hello, he was surrounded by a surprisingly large group of questioners who were interested in his poster, titled, “Synergistic anti-cancer activity of the CDK4/6 inhibitor PD-0332991 in combination with 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy in human colon cancer cells.” If that is any indication of the impact of his work and that of our other presenters, I would have to conclude that we did ourselves proud.
I ran from session to session, but took particular pleasure in my participation in several career mentoring workshops and as a speaker in the scientist-survivor program. I had an opportunity to interact with some incredibly accomplished and dedicated advocates who wanted to learn more about cancer research. It was very inspiring.
I will need that inspiration for our last big training walk before the Avon Walk. We are heading out Saturday morning in hopes of getting done before the skies open up. Our team has raised $54,000 as of this morning. There are still a few team members that need help to reach their $1800 fund raising goal to be able to participate in the Walk next week. If you are interested in helping out, you can visit the Lombardi/CBCC team page here.