I hope you had a restful Labor Day Weekend!
Since summer is winding down, our family decided to take a week at the shore (or “beach” to those of you from DelMarVa) the week before last. We went to Long Beach Island (aka LBI), north of Atlantic City, where our family has rented summer places off and on for many years. It’s always been our family’s “happy place.”
This year, however, our restful vacation was not meant to be. Within the span of one week, almost all of the kids contracted either a GI bug or food poisoning. Then, of course, we had an earthquake, as we followed the track of hurricane Irene, which was basically heading right at us. There was a mandatory evacuation of the island, starting that Friday at 8 am, so we packed up the car to leave. And then it was my turn to get sick! Fortunately, I’ve recovered and am back at work. However, LBI has lost some of its luster for me and my family.
I have a lot going on in the coming few weeks. First of all, with the new academic year, everything heats up, as people return from vacation. Moreover, I was so energized by working on a response to the new targetsU01 RFA that I am about to take another dip into responding to the program announcement of the NCI “Provocative Questions” initiative. If you take a look at the PA, I bet you’ll find a question that makes sense for your research.
I’ll be speaking at the Medical Center Caucus this week, which should prove to be an interesting experience. I am also preparing for the October Board of Directors meeting to describe Lombardi’s expanding relationship with MedStar. We have made quite a bit of progress, and while the visible signs of change are still modest, rest assured that a solid foundation is being laid for a productive long-term collaboration.
Now, I need some help. On September 13, I am part of a panel for the Medical Center’s “Doctors Speak Out” panel discussion series. I have been asked to speak (without slides) on genes, environment interactions and cancer. Bearing in mind that this is a lay audience, how should I explain this complexity though a few good examples? Brca1 offers a good example of a genetically defined risk that is not apparently subject to much environmental influence, and the same is true for many pediatric cancers.
But are there useful examples of more balance among genetic and environmental risk factors, where both components are fairly well proven? Colorectal cancer makes the grade genetically, but the environmental influencers have been widely hailed but never conclusively proven. Lung cancer seems to me to pose the opposite dilemma; the environmental influence (I.e., smoking) is incontrovertible, but the genetic influences have not really been nailed down to the point of making definitive conclusions. I am open to any and all suggestions!