Category: Outreach

Categories
CCSG Events Outreach

Getting the Word Out about Lombardi

I had a wonderful wet weekend cheering on the Lombardi team at the Avon Walk. I was proud of our team this year. We had 23 walkers who combined to raise $46,000.  It’s nice to be able to have a bigger impact for such a wonderful cause. Even more importantly the Lombardi cheering section was loud and quite prominent at many of the cheering stations. This was a big change from last year where only one person served as the Lombardi-designated cheerer.

You can bet that many people noticed our presence this year, and many people commented on Lombardi’s walking team, cheerers, and coordination of medical services for the Walk. We received a lovely check from the Avon Foundation at the Walk’s closing ceremony which will support the operation of the Capital Breast Care Center, and the head of the Foundation made special note of Lombardi’s increased presence at the Walk. As I’ve told you before, I want Lombardi to be a presence at important events like this, and this was a good start. But wait till next year!

On a related note, I had the horrifying experience of waking up to the sound of my own voice on the radio on Monday morning. Beth Beck and I were interviewed by local NPR affiliate WAMU about the Avon Walk, and when my alarm went off at 6 AM the next day, this is what I heard.

I attended the NCI Cancer Centers director’s retreat in Pentagon City on Monday evening and Tuesday (where John Niederhuber congratulated me on the successful Avon Walk – he must have heard the WAMU story). It appears as if the cancer centers should not expect a windfall for essential infrastructure from the stimulus package or the growing NIH budget. However it is clear that pay lines will be supported for R01s, with 16% pay lines and the flexibility to reach up to the 25th percentile in some instances. So let’s keep writing those grants.

Yesterday, I spent my day with the Lombardi Celebration Committee describing the work we do. I was inspired by the dedication and added energy of the group coming from new members. This is an important way to get the word out about Lombardi, and I look forward to attending the Celebration on November 7th.

I then drove directly to Capitol Hill to participate in a effort on behalf of cancer centers organized by the AACI and Friends of Cancer Research. I had a chance to meet with Legislative Assistants of several Members of Congress. While one never knows if those activities yield immediate dividends, it was nice that one of the Legislative Asssistants said, “It’s nice to see you again,” which means our message is getting across.

Oh, by the way, we have a core grant due on the 25th. We’re now in the home stretch and the final pieces of the puzzle are falling into place. If you happen to run into Ellen McLaughlin or Stephanie Pomerleau in the hallway, please give them your thanks because they are doing a wonderful job managing the complex task of putting together the grant submission.

Categories
Education Outreach Research

Mentoring our junior faculty

We had Program Leader and Associate Director meetings in the past week. After obsessing for the requisite period of time about the core grant submission, we discussed ways to improve program-based mentoring for junior investigators. The goal of these discussions was to find ways to provide support to junior faculty and ensure all of their research ideas are given the advantage of review with a view to identifying more avenues for collaboration and refinement of research strategies.

While we are still working out the details of how this will be implemented, each set of Program Leaders has been encouraged to incorporate research proposal reviews into their regular program meeting structures. Of course, more senior investigators who are looking either for validation or a reality check will be encouraged to take advantage of this new interactive resource as well. Stay tuned for more on these efforts.

One of the highlights of last week was a visit I paid to the Walter Reed Hospital where I met with Colonel Craig Shriver, Director of the Clinical Breast Care Project. He has organized a remarkably comprehensive breast cancer tumor enterprise. There are many opportunities for potential collaborations and Col. Shriver will be leading a delegation that will visit Lombardi in May. I also had a chance to visit John Potter while at Walter Reed. His office is in the original main building, which has enough photographs and paintings to qualify as a major museum in many cities. It’s quite striking.

On Sunday, Harriet hosted many members of the Lombardi/CBCC Avon Walk team at our house. After they met and strategized about ways to raise more money for the team, I had the wonderful opportunity to clean up while the team went out for a soggy and chilly walk. I think I got the better end of the deal.

Monday morning I visited the CBCC and met with Beth Beck and her crew to learn more about the work they do and their future plans. It is a really wonderful facility and provides such an important service to underserved women in the District and in our region. I was excited to learn that a van will shortly be in operation to pick up patients from the community to be transported to the Center for both mammography and patient education. I’m proud that Lombardi has been the driving force behind this wonderful enterprise.

Categories
Events Outreach

Support Lombardi’s Avon Walk Team

In a horrifying convergence of the forces of nature, my wife Harriet has joined with Jeanne Mandelblatt to take a lead role in Lombardi’s support for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. As many of you know, Jeanne has long been associated with this effort and Peter Shields has made remarkable contributions to oversee the Medical Team that supports the walk. Last year the Lombardi effort was spirited, but relatively small. As a recipient of generous support of the Avon Foundation and to support the incredibly important cause that inspires the event, I am hoping that Lombardi will really ramp up its presence at this year’s event.

Already the team has swelled to 13 members – each of whom has pledged to raise at least $1,800 from friends, family, and other sources. However, there’s no reason why the team can’t be much larger. Moreover, the team could sure benefit from support at the various cheering stations along the route. If you can, I urge you to join the Walking Team, to cheer them on, or sign up for the Medical Team.

Let’s show Washington that Lombardi really cares and aim to have the largest team of any comprehensive cancer center at the Walk.

Categories
Events Outreach

Greetings from Miami

Greetings from Miami, where I am attending the AACR Tumor Immunology Conference. The high today was 75 degrees. Cuban coffee is wonderful.

I hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving as we head into the full force of the holiday season. As you do your holiday shopping, please remember to check out shopforcancercures.org, which is a fundraising initiative of the Cancer Research Alliance; a portion of sales through that organization goes to the 11 member institutions (including Lombardi).

Things are very busy as we prepare for the meeting of the Committee on Medical Center Affairs (COMCA) of the Board of the Directors. I always look forward to the opportunity to share my vision and excitement about the cancer center, and the Board has proven to share in that enthusiasm.

I hope everyone stays warm (I guess I’ll miss Miami when I return to DC tomorrow).

Categories
Outreach Research

Greetings from Long Beach Island

Well, I hope I’m having a good time on vacation. I actually posted this before I left so I wouldn’t eat into my two hour email allowance.

Although I think the programs have already announced this, I want to make sure that everyone knows we have three terrific recruits starting in the next month or so.

First, Lucile Adams-Campbell, the Director of the Howard University Cancer Center, is joining us to be the Associate Director for Minority Health and Health Disparities Research. Lucile is an internationally-recognized epidemiologist with particular expertise in nutrition and physical activity, as well as fostering health disparity research and conducting community health interventions and outreach. Lucile will be a vibrant member of the CGE Program, and her years of experience and important leadership role in the DC cancer community will add a special dimension to our leadership team.

Subha Madhavan joins us on October 1st from NCI where she has played a major role in the organization and execution of the caBIG enterprise. Her recruitment allows us to move forward with the design and implementation of the G-DOC concept. So we’re very excited to have her joining us.

On a related note, you may have seen the press release regarding our collaboration with Indivumed for patient sample acquisition, processing, and data entry. These two developments put us in an excellent position to move forward with our plans to create an integrated clinical molecular database for selected cancers.

And last, but certainly not least, Arnie Potosky joins us from the NCI. He is an internationally-recognized health services researcher who will be the Director of Heath Services Research within the Cancer Control Program. In this role, Arnie will lead a national caliber health services research program at Lombardi that builds on the wornderful foundation established by Jeanne Mandelblatt and colleagues. I’m delighted we are able to add someone of his distinction to our faculty and look forward to his active interaction with our clinical providers and with researchers across the spectrum of Lombardi activities.

I am out of town and therefore can’t comment on this week’s faculty seminar. Sorry Rebecca. But maybe there is a brave soul who can post something to the comments.

See you in September! (Does anybody remember that song?)