I am writing as a beautiful weekend coasts to an end. Harriet and I snuck up to Philly on Saturday to visit Ella, Ken and Sarah. We just can’t get enough of Ella! The weekend was a reward for a very busy and eventful week of work. Because we were away on Saturday, we were not able to participate in the Avon Walk team’s intensive training walk that included an inspiring visit to the CBCC (photo below). Congratulations to our fabulous Lombardi/CBCC team, which has now raised $102,572.68, placing this team of 60 walkers in second place, closer to first than to third. Just think that in 2008 this team had only five walkers and raised $9,000. If you ever wanted more evidence that Georgetown Lombardi is an increasing force in our community, look no further. Thanks to Jeanne Mandelblatt, for all she has done to make this happen.
We are now deep into the homestretch of CCSG preparations; the most recent version of the Director’s Overview ends with the following statement.
“During the current funding period LCCC has demonstrated clear scientific excellence, national leadership and conduct of high impact research. Informed by the 2009 Summary Statement, LCCC has taken important steps to assure that, moving forward, with the support of its CCSG, it will fulfill its vision and mission as a comprehensive cancer center that makes distinctive contributions to the national goal to eradicate cancer. This effort has been led by an experienced and effective Center Director through 1) intensive Planning and Evaluation that has led to significant reorganization of Cancer Center membership, scientific programs and shared resources, 2) a Senior Leadership that has been strengthened by outstanding recruitments and streamlined, refined organizational capabilities and 3) improved Administration that has supported important scientific initiatives, with maintenance of Cancer Focus and 4) exceptional Institutional Commitment by Georgetown University and MedStar Health. These advances have helped LCCC conduct high-impact Transdisciplinary and Collaborative Research, exemplified by the development of Conditional Cellular Reprogramming, the identification and development of a novel approach to treating Ewing Sarcoma, and the development of practice-informing mammography screening guidelines.”
The week was highlighted by the end of AACR (which was a very busy meeting for me) and the public announcement Tuesday of the affiliation of Hackensack University Medical Center’s John Theurer Cancer Center with Georgetown Lombardi. The hematopoietic stem cell transplantation effort is well underway, and we anticipate the first autologous transplant in May. We will have some more formal celebrations of this affiliation next month, so stay tuned for more information and for opportunities to meet our new colleagues. And, we had our initial Internal Advisory Committee meeting, chaired by Dr. Steve Evans, a Georgetown Lombardi member and Vice President for Medical Affairs for MedStar Health. This group contains all Chairs in the Georgetown Lombardi Sector, along with other GUMC and MedStar Health leaders whose responsibilities intersect with Georgetown Lombardi’s cancer center mission. This group will help us improve the coherence of our activities with those of our closest colleagues.
Finally, I would be remiss if I did not mention the lovely and moving memorial service for our late colleague Marko Moskovitch, who passed away in January from pancreatic cancer. Marko was remembered by many of his friends and family. I was especially moved by our colleague Tim Jorgenson’s stirring remarks, and by the simple but highly emotive photo collage showing Marko at various stages of his life, from childhood, to sitting in a tank during the 1973 Yom Kippur war and then during his career as an innovative scientist. Rest easy, my friend. Your memory is not only a blessing, but also a poignant reminder of how much work we have left to do.
Have a terrific and productive week.
