I can’t believe how quickly the summer is passing. This has been another busy week, as I try to pull together a U01 grant on identifying new tumor targets.
I spent all day Wednesday and part of Thursday in Rockville at a NCI NExT oversight committee meeting, reviewing proposals for the development of new drugs using NCI resources. It was very interesting. On my way back from the meeting I received a call from Karen Mallet, who handles media for the medical center, asking if I was available for an interview by WUSA 9 on the 11 o’clock news to discuss a New England Journal of Medicine paper by David Porter, Carl June and colleagues at Penn regarding a new approach to the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. They transduced autologous T cells with an anti-CD19 antibody fragment and with a co-stimulatory molecule and observed remarkable anti-tumor responses in a patient with very advanced disease.
I know Carl pretty well, and was pleased to have a chance to put the work in perspective for the viewers. What made this interesting was that I had the choice of being interviewed in the studio live, or being taped at home. So, I chose the latter, since it was late and I didn’t want to be up all night with a big day planned for Thursday. So, at around 7 pm the crew showed up at our house. I tossed on a tie and jacket (no, I was not wearing a T-shirt and shorts), and they positioned me in front of our family room TV to provide a dark background for the interview. Now, that was different!
I am looking forward to this weekend. I have to continue working on that grant but Harriet and I will be in Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon to watch the Phillies play the Nationals at Citizens Bank Park (if the game is not postponed by rain). The energy at the “Bank” is unbelievable; every game is a raucous sellout. More importantly, it will be the first baseball game I’ve watched live with my father since about 1964, when we went to a game in Philly’s old Connie Mack Stadium. Since then, we’ve watched countless games together on TV, but this will be special for me. It will be even more special because our oldest son Ken will be with us – a three-generation event!
Then, next Friday, I’ll be at Nationals Park to watch the same teams play in DC – with our younger son, David. Back in May, our daughter Elana, her husband Ben and our grandson Isaac treated Harriet and me to a Phillies-Nationals game at Nationals Park. It was Isaac’s first live baseball game (and first exposure to ice cream) and another three-generation event! The Phils won the game in May, and I am rooting for them to complete the trifecta over the next week or so. I do root for the Nationals when they play any other team, by the way.
Finally, after 20 years, the administrative suite is getting a bit of a facelift – paint, new carpets, and a general sprucing up. So, the offices will be closed for a few days to get the work done on Thursday, August 18, Friday, August 19 and Tuesday, August 23. Please keep that in mind if you need any signatures.
Have a wonderful weekend.