Category: Weekly post

Greetings on a Sunday night. I am still buzzing from our Lombardi Gala, which was held on Saturday evening at the Anthem on the Wharf. It was a simply marvelous event, with great energy, a fabulous venue and a program that was moving and inspiring. We honored Ellen Sigal and Marlene Malek, the co-founders of Friends of Cancer Research, a pioneering and highly effective advocacy organization for new cancer treatments. We also recognized the efforts of Lombardi supporters Scott LaGanga and Tim Lawrence, who organize our wonderful annual golf tournament to benefit the Ruesch Center, and our very own rising stars, Alejandra Hurtado de Mendoza and Sreejith Nair, who were introduced by Vince Lombardi II, grandson of the legendary coach for whom we are named. We also had the privilege of hearing from this year’s co-chairs, Bud Hawk and Cindy Stark, and their spouses, and Laurie Lapeyre, daughter of Margaret Hodges, the founder and inspiration of our Gala. A particular highlight was a video about one of our patients, Jaime Posada, and his fight against lung cancer with the help of his oncologist, Stephen Liu. Watch his story, and prepare to be moved.

We even hyped the 2024 BellRinger ride! Never in my life did I ever think I would mount a bicycle while wearing a tuxedo!

We raised a lot of money and had a wonderful time doing it. More importantly, that money will save lives, and that is what this event is all about. I am deeply grateful to everybody who made this event a success, with particular thanks to Kim Grassia and Alana Cassidy Bateman, who in just a few months since their arrival as our events team engineered a flawless event, supported by a small army of volunteers.

I would be remiss if I did not recognize the tireless work of Bud Hawk and Cindy Stark, who introduced many friends to Lombardi, plus the Auction Committee, led by Carolyn Kolben, with support from Jaimie Garvey. I actually got into a bidding war over a bottle of 15-year Pappy Van Winkle bourbon, but got outbid after a vigorous contest with one of our attendees! Just as well, I suppose. Last, but certainly not least, Donald Dunn and Justine Weissenborn worked their usual magic to make this event possible. It was a great, great night.

No rest for the weary; we drove to Philadelphia this morning to help out while our son Ken has shoulder surgery. I’ll be back in town on Wednesday.

Make the world a better place this week.

Lou

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The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.

Well, it has been quite a week! We met our incoming Executive Vice President, Dr. Norman Beauchamp Jr., and learned a bit about his exciting plans for the future of our medical center. Plus, the notice of grant award for the competitive renewal of our CCSG is imminent as well.

Harriet and I headed off to the beach this past weekend to get a head start on our family’s observance of Passover, which formally begins on Monday evening. We’ll be with our DC contingent on Tuesday, and our Ellicott City branch is up in Boston with Ben’s family this week. We were joined on Saturday by our kids and grandkids from Philadelphia for an early Seder, where we tell the story of the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, led by Moses. It is a powerful story; its many layers remind us of the degrading nature of enslavement and the yearnings of all people to have freedom and dignity. The actual telling of the story can be tiresome for the little ones, so we mixed things up a bit this year. The actual reading of the Seder was abbreviated (but the traditional meal was not!), and we then sat down to watch the movie “The Ten Commandments,” released in the 1950s, starring Charlton Heston as Moses.

Now, I am a sucker for classic flicks, but this movie is impossibly cheesy, with a script composed of slogans rather than actual human dialogue. The special effects are not so special by today’s standards. But, what an experience! Everyone loved all three hours and 40 Technicolor minutes of it — even our 6-year-old granddaughter, Isabelle. I think the grandkids learned more about the Exodus than any Seder could have possibly taught them. Go figure; we have a new holiday tradition.

What’s not so new is that the story of the Exodus describes a seemingly intractable conflict in what might loosely be called the Middle East. You’d think we humans might have learned something in the roughly 3,400 years that have elapsed since those events, which we still recount to this day. Perhaps not, but hope springs eternal.

Since the time of the first Seders, Jews around the world have ended their Passover Seders with a prayer that ends with “Next Year in Jerusalem!” For most of us, this is not a statement of specific geographic intent, but rather expresses our hopes for freedom and a just peace for all peoples. That seems like an especially appropriate wish in these troubled times.

Make the world a better place this week.

Lou

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The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.

Greetings from 30,000 feet in the air on Sunday afternoon. Harriet and I are flying back from Denver. It is my second set of long airplane flights this week. It started off well enough, as I attended the AACR meeting in San Diego last weekend, leaving on Friday and returning on Tuesday afternoon. The weather was not idyllic, but the meeting was wonderful. However, we received the sad news that Judy, my daughter-in-law Sarah’s (Ken’s wife) mom, passed away that Sunday.

Judy, who was my age, was a primary care physician in Denver for many years, specializing in women’s health, until her retirement about eight years ago to care for her ailing husband, who died in 2017. She was incredibly bright, thoughtful and sensitive, and was a wonderful writer who had a blog called “Fe-mail Health News.” Starting a few years ago, she began experiencing cognitive decline, punctuated by a series of strokes caused by atrial fibrillation (something she had treated countless times). Her decline accelerated over the past two years. Even with the support of her son and daughter-in-law, who lived nearby, she had to be moved to assisted living near Ken and Sarah about seven months ago, and her decline continued to accelerate.

Sarah was a simply remarkable support for her mom — loving, fiercely protective and consistently doing anything that was in Judy’s best interest throughout her tragic illness. I have always felt that adversity reveals character, and I am filled with admiration for Sarah, whose grief can be properly tempered by the knowledge that she gave her mother the soft landing she deserved.

Judy’s memorial service was held in Denver on Saturday. Harriet and I made quick arrangements and flew out on Friday afternoon, and will return later on Sunday. The service, which was packed with friends, former patients and family, was a testimony to the life Judy had lived, and truly was a celebration of that life.

The eulogies, particularly Sarah’s, were moving, heartfelt and illuminating. In another eulogy from one of her close friends we heard about Judy’s freshman year at Georgetown (she was in the first class of women admitted to the college, and lived in Darnall Hall), and her subsequent transfer to the University of Colorado to complete her undergraduate and medical school degrees. We learned that she and some of her close friends loved to walk through Glover Archbold Park near the campus. We learned about her adventurous spirit, which included a later-in-life fascination with, and apparent great skill in, belly dancing.

Judy raised two wonderful children, and she cared for countless thousands of patients. She made no great discoveries, did not write the Great American Novel, but made the world a better place in so many ways. The final eulogy of the service was given by our 6-year-old granddaughter, Isabelle. Sarah picked her up and asked her what she wanted to say about her JAMA (we think Judy viewed this name as a badge of honor for an internist). Isabelle replied, “She liked to try new things.” Nothing more needed to be said.

I am glad to have known Judy, and I am the better for it.

On a happier note, please consider signing up for and supporting our Walking Warriors, led by our own Jeanne Mandelblatt, who once again will walk to raise money for breast cancer research. It is a wonderful initiative worthy of our participation and support. You can learn more about it on their website.

Make the world a better place this week.

Lou

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The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.

Greetings after this long holiday weekend. I hope that all of you who celebrate Easter had a wonderful and meaningful observance. I took a bit of a break late in the past week — a few meetings but lots of writing. The coming week will be busy, and I’ll be off to the annual AACR meeting on Friday, so there will be no blog next week.

I think the time has come to modify this blog’s tagline, “Stay safe and be well.” It was adopted at the beginning of the pandemic, four years ago. It was a wonderful sign off during a dark and frightening moment, but that moment has passed, thankfully. While it is always a good idea to stay safe and be well, it’s also a very good idea to “take good care.” However, for this edition I have chosen a different way of saying bye for now.

Make the world a better place this week.

Lou

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The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.

Greetings on a rainy Saturday. Harriet and I attended the memorial service for Denise Robbins this morning. As I noted last week, Denise succumbed to breast cancer about 10 days ago. David, his family and friends were joined at the service by many members of his Georgetown family. The service was filled with the ache of loss, the warmth of remembrance and the closeness of a caring community.

There is something special about Georgetown Lombardi. Several attendees noted that this level of community, compassion and care is regrettably unusual in the academic world. Just think of it: David and Denise moved to D.C. in the middle of the pandemic, when most people worked from home. Even now, the campus has not fully recovered the buzz that comes from human contact and not through screens. Despite these challenges, David and Denise became treasured members of our Georgetown Lombardi family and forged bonds that helped to sustain them during unimaginable difficulties. There is nothing like actual contact and real friendships to add important, life-affirming depth to the work that we do.

Make no mistake, that work is important. I frequently crow about the progress we have made in the war on cancer. Denise’s tragic loss is a harsh reminder that we don’t have the answers for all of our patients, despite that progress. So, today I am wrestling with a complex brew of sadness, the warmth that comes from a sense of belonging, and determination to use the time left to me to make a difference by contributing to our shared mission.

May Denise rest in peace, and may David be comforted by our caring community.

Stay safe and be well.

Lou

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The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.

Greetings on a brilliant late winter Saturday afternoon. Our lab submitted a couple of papers this past week, and our fingers are now crossed. Wednesday was notable for the first post-COVID “Lunch with Lou,” where I met with our early career faculty council under the auspices of our cancer center’s DEI program. We went through their thoughtful agenda of questions, and I came away energized and hopeful for the future of cancer research.

Right after that, the Cancer Host Interactions (CHI) program meeting featured a presentation by Chul Kim regarding the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors in HIV-positive patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Interestingly, Chul has found that HIV positive patients can respond well to these inhibitors, with acceptable toxicities as well. Chul epitomizes a translationally oriented clinical investigator, with the depth to meaningfully team up with Georgetown Lombardi scientists. He has great collaborations to incorporate imaging mass cytometry with Marta Catalfamo.

I then hurried over to the Fischer Colloquium in the McDonough School of Business for the 2024 Innovation Awards Ceremony. Recent patentees received plaques or glass statues (including our own Jill Smith), and there were several wonderful speakers, including the Commissioner of the U.S. Patent Office. It was a lovely ceremony, and it highlighted the significant innovation coming out the institution as a whole, and from the cancer center in particular.

Finally, the 2024 resident match took place on Friday. All four of our graduating MD/PhD students matched at wonderful institutions: Jerry Xiao at UCSF (Internal Medicine), Irfan Khan at Cedars Sinai (Radiation Oncology), Joey Posner at Johns Hopkins (Pediatric Neurology) and Joshua McCall at Vanderbilt (Neurology). You may know one or more of these wonderful students, and I am certain you share in my congratulations to them and to Todd Waldman, who has organized a very successful program. Having had the opportunity to mentor two MD/PhD student in my lab who went on to top internal medicine residency programs, it is clear that Georgetown is able to attract and support budding superstars. Congratulations to this year’s graduating class!

Stay safe and be well.

Lou

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The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.

After 10 days of work-related travel connected to a bit of free time to visit family in California and Philadelphia, I returned to an exceptionally busy week of work. However, there was a clear highlight for me. On Monday and Tuesday the Executive Committee of the cancer center convened at 2115 Wisconsin Avenue with additional Lombardi members to build a foundation for our next five years.

We reviewed the CCSG Summary Statement, incorporated its comments and suggested action items into our existing 2021-2026 Strategic Plan, and then focused on what I proposed were the four major action items we must address to support our future success as an NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center:

• Obtain three or more multi-project, multi-PI grants, such as P01, U54 or SPORE grants, that span the Georgetown Lombardi Consortium. To achieve our goals of three such grants, we recognized that we will need to advance about 15 multi-PI projects to be able to get three or more of them funded within five years. Of course, even more than three such projects would be great, and they would increase our impact and funding base.
• Increase transdisciplinary collaboration and coordination (multiple clinical disciplines/departments across the consortium, evidenced by joint publications and grants).
• Increase the accrual of patients to high-impact clinical trials linked to Georgetown Lombardi science. We have made significant progress and can support 600+ therapeutic accruals annually across the consortium, and aim for 800+ accruals within five years. I am confident we can achieve these goals. Linking accruals with Georgetown Lombardi science will be critically important, but that is the fun part!
• Continue recruitments in accord with the CCSG Strategic Plan to increase our research depth (currently about $22M annual direct costs of cancer-focused research funding, up from about $13M in 2018). We aim to approach the median cancer-focused funding of NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers; while it will take time, maintaining our upward trajectory is an urgent priority for continued future NCI designations. We are moving forward with recruitment plans over the next few months.

Buoyed by significant investments by Georgetown University, Hackensack Meridian Health and MedStar Health, we have the bandwidth to execute these priorities. We were excited to consider strategies for new developmental projects and settled on a strategy to iteratively identify project teams who will receive Georgetown Lombardi support to work towards multi-PI projects. We aim to do this yearly, with options for one-year renewals of support (based on progress reports). We anticipate that the selected teams will address important problems, and that teams will be composed of members whose funding profiles and histories increase the likelihood of success.

Our first three priorities are a developing a U54 focused on Minority Health and Health Disparities, led by Lucile Adams Campbell; a team focused on colon cancer biology and therapy, led by David Robbins and Binfeng Lu; and a team addressing the epigenetics of tumors and the host immune response, to be led by Yi Zhang and Nagi Ayad, along with Chunling Yi. Each of these teams has been charged with creating a brief proposal that will be reviewed over the next month or so, with funding to commence by May. The next group of project teams will be solicited after July 1.

We are really excited about this initiative and expect that these efforts will help us achieve our key goals and spin off additional activities that engage all of us in this progress.

Stay safe and be well.

Lou

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The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.

Greetings on a cold Presidents Day Weekend. We took a break and went to the beach, avoiding the non-catastrophic non-blizzard that was predicted for DC. It’s beautiful and quiet here, but when we went to a popular local restaurant on Friday evening it was pleasantly filled. It has been a most relaxing weekend, and I for one needed it after a very busy past two weeks.

We are in budget and faculty evaluation season. I saw a few patients. I also interviewed two candidates as potential successors to Sandy Jablonski in my lab. We put in the finishing touches and submitted Zoe Malchiodi’s wonderful first-author paper on natural killer cells in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. I cannot believe how much work is required to submit papers to high-impact journals. To think that I imagined that the pace of my work life would be less frenetic after the CCSG competitive renewal site visit! I could not have been more wrong.

I participated in a very interesting daylong Georgetown University Executive Committee retreat that focused on leadership in these challenging times. Plus, on Friday I co-chaired a virtual NCI study section to review NCI R35 outstanding investigator awards. I personally reviewed nine proposals, and was simply awed by the extraordinary talent and high accomplishments of the people who applied. It makes Jeanne Mandelblatt’s successful R35 award last month that much more impressive to me. There is no higher bar of peer recognition in our field, in my opinion.

The coming week will be busy as well, but then I have a break of sorts. Harriet and I will be flying to California over the weekend. We’ll spend a couple of days visiting one of her cousins in Palm Springs, and then will drive down to La Jolla, where I will chair the EAB for the Sanford Burnham Prebys NCI-designated cancer center. We then fly directly from San Diego to Philadelphia for Fox Chase Cancer Center’s EAB meeting — a mock Site Visit rehearsal. We’ll then spend a night or two with our son Ken and his family before heading home. So, it will be a combination of hard work and fun.

Because I will be traveling, I will hold off on blogs for the next week or two. In the meantime, stay safe and be well.

Lou

 

 

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The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.

Greetings on Super Bowl Sunday! I had a very busy week that included a trip to California to chair a cancer center EAB. It’s always a great education for me, even as we provide service to our colleagues. I landed on Friday evening, and on Saturday we trained up to Philadelphia to help our son Ken and his youngest child, Isabelle, celebrate their birthdays.

There will be no let up this week, with tons of budget-related meetings and a GU Executive Committee retreat on Thursday, followed by an NCI R35 virtual study section meeting on Friday.

At least for tonight I will kick back a bit and will enjoy the Super Bowl.

Stay safe and be well.

Lou

 

 

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The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.

It has been a crazy busy week. I put the finishing touches on a new R01 proposal that focuses on NK cell migration in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. I gave two lectures for grad students, and had wall-to-wall meetings every day of the week. After Alex Lekan, an MD/PhD student in my lab, gave his excellent Data Meeting presentation on Thursday morning, I had a busy clinic that afternoon and then gave a joint presentation with Ben Weinberg about our pancreatic cancer research to the Immunotherapy and Heme Malignancies Working Group at the end of that day.

I then went up to Hackensack on Friday with Sharon Levy for meetings to discuss our consortium plans moving forward. My train left DC at 7 a.m., and I returned at 6 p.m. and went straight from Union Station to the Kennedy Center, where Harriet, I and some friends had dinner before we saw the musical “Tick, Tick, Boom.” It was very good, but I must say that I preferred Sondheim’s “Merrily We Roll Along,” which we saw in New York City the previous weekend. 

On Saturday, Harriet and I went to the Georgetown basketball game, where I and a group of BellRinger stalwarts accepted an oversized check at a half court ceremony at halftime for the proceeds from our ride in October. The Capital One Center was buzzing with a pretty big crowd (they came for the Hoyas, not for our BellRinger group!). Even though Marquette thumped the Hoyas, it is clear to me that Coach Cooley has his team playing hard and has the program on the right track.

By the way, almost 230 people have signed up already to ride in BellRinger 2024, less than two weeks after registration for the event opened. What a great way to answer the bell! We are way ahead of last year’s pace. Let’s keep it going!

It was wonderful to take a break on Sunday to have people from the lab over for a brunch to celebrate Sandy Jablonski’s retirement. I wrote about her last month, but as I finished off the grant this week I thought about all we’ve accomplished, and so much of it happened because of her. I’m looking for her successor, though she will never be replaced. Speaking of BellRinger, we have a few of the small bells that were handed out at the finish lines of the 2023 ride. Every time someone has a good result to share at our lab meeting, they get to “ring the bell.” It’s a wonderful new lab tradition.

I have to head out to the West Coast later this week to chair the University of California, Irvine Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center EAB meeting. That will be a lot of work too, but I look forward to catching up with some recreational reading on the plane. I finished off Michener’s “Chesapeake” a couple of weeks ago and am now plowing through Walter Isaacson’s biography of Henry Kissinger. Fascinating stuff.

Finally, congratulations to Jeanne Mandelblatt for being one of the small cadre of cancer research superstars to receive an R35 Outstanding Investigator Award from the NCI. The awards were just announced. It is a testament to her exemplary work and to the confidence of rigorous peer reviewers that her remarkable, highly impactful productivity will continue.

Sometimes, crazy busy can be good. Have a great weekend, and remember to stay safe and be well.

Lou

 

 

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The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.