Category: Weekly post

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Weekly post

Good news in time for the holidays

I’m on my way to the Lombardi holiday party and I can’t believe that it’s already my third holiday party, even though I officially started two years ago. I’m happy to say that we have a lot to celebrate this year – we have continued to make wonderful progress scientifically and I’m firmly convinced that Lombardi has never been better.

I’m also pleased to report that we received news from the parent committee reviewing our CCSG application. Lombardi has been recommended for continued comprehensive status with five years of support. Of course, specific funding decisions will occur at a later date, but I sure am glad we’ve gotten through this part!

Although I’ve written this before, I want to again thank all of the many people who contributed to our CCSG application and site visit, which I thought was simply spectacular. I can’t tell you how proud I am to have the privilege of leading Lombardi and working with so many fabulous people.

So I hope to see you all at this afternoon’s party at the Leavey Center so we can raise a glass and celebrate together.

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Weekly post

A Remarkable Trip

Well, I am back from trips to South Korea, and then after a brief interlude in DC, to Philadelphia to visit family for the Thanksgiving holiday. I know this will sound like I’m gloating, but I must say the Eagles’ victory over the Redskins on Sunday made for a fine ending to a holiday weekend.

No, I did not try turkey with kimchee dressing…

South Korea is really remarkable, with a culture that is at once familiar and exotic. Perhaps my most interesting non-work experience was a tour of the demilitarized zone, and a chance to walk through one of the clandestine tunnels dug by North Korea to support a potential surprise attack. The tunnels are 6 x 6 feet, go about 1000 feet below ground and are pretty long. Being tall, I had to crouch my way through a few hundred meters of the so-called third tunnel, and must say that if I was one of the “attackers” they would have needed to have a stretcher and traction available for me when I exited the tunnel!

I had a chance to visit and speak at both the National Cancer Center and at Seoul National University, both of which are extremely impressive, though I spent more time in Cheonan, at Dankook University. The President of Dankook University and I discussed ways to help Dankook establish a cancer center in Cheonan, which (depending upon traffic and location in the province surrounding Cheonan) is anywhere from one to four hours away from Seoul; currently, everybody in that area (which contains well over 500,000 people) must travel to Seoul for therapy if they get a diagnosis of cancer. Even in countries as advanced as South Korea, so much work on the health care infrastructure remains to be done.

I am looking forward to this week; in particular, I’ll be attending a luncheon on Tuesday to thank the Lombardi Gala volunteers for their fabulous efforts to make the event such a wonderful success. I know I had a terrific time!

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Weekly post

Greetings from Belfast!

I have had a wonderful and productive week in Dublin and Belfast meeting with Irish oncologists, researchers and government officials to discuss ways for Lombardi and GUMC with our Irish colleagues to develop meaningful and impactful collaborations. I accompanied Howard Federoff, Andy Deubler and Bob Clarke, and somehow survived Bob Clarke’s driving as well.

Bob Clarke veered off the road and nearly slaughtered a cow...
Bob Clarke veered off the road and nearly slaughtered a cow...

Alas, there was no time for golf, though we saw some beautiful countyside and very impressive cities during our visit. However, the lost opportunity to ineptly swing at a little ball was more than compensated for by many interesting new collaborative possibilities that we can consider.

Bob and I at Dunluce Castle
Bob and I at Dunluce Castle

I am back on Saturday and then have the AACI meeting (thankfully in DC), starting on Sunday afternoon. It will be good to get home, and then back to the office.

Time to pack…

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Weekly post

Welcome to 2009

I hope everybody enjoyed their holidays and is ready to go in the New Year. We have certainly had an exciting 2008, and 2009 promises to be even more interesting as we prepare for our core grant renewal and continue to develop our scientific programs and translational research.

Contrary to any wild rumors you may have heard, we do not plan to rent out the Lombardi for the inauguration – even though that could be an interesting fund raising opportunity. (The sound you just heard was the scream of agony emitted by Joe Teague when he read this.)

I’ll be away next week at a meeting out of the country (more on that later), and you will be mercifully blog-free while I am gone.

See you after the inauguration!

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Weekly post

Best wishes for the holidays

It’s hard to believe that it’s been one year since I joined Georgetown and assumed my responsibilities as director of Lombardi. I can’t speak for the rest of you, but I have found this year to be utterly remarkable – challenging, exciting, and rewarding on many personal and professional levels.

While Harriet and I certainly miss our friends and family in Philadelphia, we love living in DC. And I still got to march in the Phillies victory parade in October!

It has been a privilege to get to know so many wonderful people at Lombardi and Georgetown University. And I already feel as if I have a new professional family. Hardly a day goes by when I am not surprised and delighted to learn about another exciting research finding or translational research opportunity here at Lombardi. I am constantly amazed by the collegiality, warmth, and loyalty of our faculty and staff to the very important work we do – and to each other.

At this time of the year, it is always nice to take a step back and reflect on where we’ve been and where we might go. I feel very good about where we’ve been and truly excited and humbled by where we are headed.

Please accept my very best wishes for the holiday season, a very happy New Year, and a healthy and productive 2009.

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Weekly post

Welcome to my blog

I wanted to find a way to keep in touch with all of the faculty, staff, and students of the Lombardi Center without clogging your inboxes with too many emails. This blog gives me a chance to keep you up to date with the issues I’m wrestling with, and I hope you’ll let me know what you think as well.

We will continue to send important announcements out via email, but my thoughts on the news and direction of the cancer center will stay right here.