The last two weeks have been very interesting. The formal rollout of the G-DOC last week represented a real milestone for me, and for everyone associated with this wonderful endeavor. I first began thinking about an integrated clinical and molecular database about a decade ago, but was never able to get traction for the idea until I came to Georgetown. I have learned so much, and have been lucky to work with so many wonderful people who have made this project come to life. I am especially grateful to Subha Madhavan for her tireless efforts that have created a truly unique resource. I can’t wait to see how the G-DOC evolves over the next few years, and look forward to using it for several interesting projects myself.
I spent much of Thursday afternoon at the Ruesch Center Symposium. John Marshall assembled a very interesting mix of speakers, all of whom focused in one way or another on the promise and challenges of personalized medicine. One of the Ruesch Center’s unique perspectives relates to policy and ethics. Louis Jacques offered the Medicare/CMS perspective, while Andrew von Eschenbach, who headed both the NCI and the FDA in the previous administration, discussed how the changing political landscape will affect cancer care and drug development. After his keynote presentation I had a chance to chat with him for a while, and he clearly feels that we all will need to rethink how we do research in order to accommodate to the ever-changing economic and political landscapes. It was a most stimulating afternoon, and it is evident that the Ruesch Center, under John’s visionary guidance, is evolving into the multi-dimensional force that was envisioned when Jeanne Ruesch helped John establish the center last year. Congratulations, John, and thank you, Jeanne for all you do.
Saturday night is our annual Gala, where we will celebrate the 40th anniversary of Lombardi’s establishment and honor John Potter, whose founding vision sustains us to this day. We will have more than 1,000 attendees, and are on pace to far exceed the amount of money that was raised last year. I can’t believe that this is my fourth Gala; I attended the 2007 Gala after I had accepted the job as Director, but before I actually started. Even though it should be old hat for me by now, the Gala is still a very exciting event and I very much look forward to it.
Have a great weekend, and remember to turn your clocks back one hour on Saturday night!