Caligiuri Joins White House Meeting on ORIEN Collaboration in Cancer Research
OSUCCC Director and James CEO Michael A. Caligiuri, MD, joined a small group of medical officials who met in January 2016 at The White House with senior members from the offices of President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden to discuss how the Oncology Research Information Exchange Network (ORIEN) can be a model for national collaboration in cancer research. Founded and anchored by Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., and the OSUCCC – James, ORIEN is a unique research partnership among North American cancer centers that recognizes that collaboration and access to data are keys to cancer discovery. To date, 11 prominent cancer centers have joined ORIEN. Each member has adopted the Total Cancer Care® (TCC) protocol to share de-identified data from consenting patients and match eligible patients to clinical trials.
Collaboration is Key in Fully Integrated Cancer ED
Among the many extraordinary features of the new James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute is an oncology-specific emergency department (ED)—one of only a few in the country—that opened in April 2015 with a highly skilled cancer ED team and a state-of-the-art treatment process that are fully integrated with The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center ED. “The James Cancer ED is unique in that it operates side-by-side within a comprehensive academic medical center ED,” says Richard Goldberg, MD, physician-in-chief at The James, noting that ED physicians and nurses trained in oncology staff the department, working alongside the standard ED medical teams. The James Cancer ED staff is expert in treating such oncologic emergencies as treatment-associated infections, dehydration, fever, tumor lysis syndrome, surgical problems such as bowel or kidney obstruction, or pain and weakness due to brain tumors or spine metastases.
OSUCCC – James Gives Block Lectureship Award to Johns Hopkins Nobel Laureate
Carol Greider, PhD, a Nobel Laureate researcher at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine who helped discover telomerase, an enzyme that maintains telomeres (chromosome ends), visited Ohio State in March 2015 to accept the 21st Herbert and Maxine Block Memorial Lectureship Award for Distinguished Achievement in Cancer. Greider lectured on “Telomeres and Telomerase: How Basic Science Discoveries Lead to Clinical Impact.” The OSUCCC – James presents the Block Award to an individual whose contributions to cancer patient care or education have received worldwide recognition. The recipient then visits Ohio State to accept the award and lecture about his or her work. The award is $25,000, one of the largest prizes given by an academic institution in the field of cancer.
Bloomfield Wins 2016 Margaret L. Kripke Legends Award
Clara D. Bloomfield, MD, a Distinguished University Professor at Ohio State who also serves as cancer scholar and senior adviser to the OSUCCC – James, received the 2016 Margaret L. Kripke Legends Award from the Office of Women Faculty Programs at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. Established in 2008 in honor of Margaret L. Kripke, PhD, for her advocacy for and promotion of women in academic medicine and science, this national award is presented annually to an individual—male or female—for ongoing support and extraordinary dedication to enhancing the careers of women in cancer medicine and cancer science. Bloomfield is an internationally recognized clinical scientist whose groundbreaking research on adult leukemia and lymphoma—described in more than 1,000 publications over a career of more than 40 years—has changed the way medical professionals think about and treat patients with these diseases. ALSO, Bloomfield was honored as one of 12 winners in the 2015 Giants of Cancer Care awards program sponsored by OncLive, a Web resource for physicians and other health professionals who focus on treating cancer. In addition, she was featured in the July 10 edition of The ASCO Post in a story titled ”Clara D. Bloomfield, MD, FASCO: Never One to Back Down From a Challenge.”
Goldberg Receives National Prize for Clinical and Research Leadership
Richard Goldberg, MD, an internationally renowned gastrointestinal oncologist and physician-in-chief at the OSUCCC – James, received the 2015 Bob Pinedo Cancer Care Prize from the Society for Translational Oncology (STO) at the STO Fifth Annual Meeting, which was hosted by the OSUCCC – James at Ohio State. The $50,000 award recognizes Goldberg’s clinical and research leadership in gastrointestinal oncology, as well as his compassionate care of patients. He delivered the keynote address at the annual meeting. Among his achievements, Goldberg has led a national intergroup study, N9741, as part of an international phase III study of oxaliplatin, irinotecan and 5-fluorouracil in combinations for first-line treatment of advanced colorectal cancer. This study, conducted at centers in the United States and Canada, resulted in approval of oxaliplatin for clinical use and helped change the standard of care for patients with advanced colorectal cancer.
Byrd Collects 2 National Awards for Research in CLL
John C. Byrd, MD, director of the Division of Hematology at Ohio State and co-leader of the Leukemia Research Program at the OSUCCC – James, received the 2015 Charles G. Moertel Lecture Award from the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology at the Alliance Spring Group Meeting in Chicago. The Alliance presents the award annually to an investigator whose research within the National Cancer Institute (NCI) National Clinical Trials Network has a major impact on community cancer practice. As the 2015 recipient, Byrd lectured at the Spring Group Meeting on the transformative potential of the drug ibrutinib to change the treatment landscape of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). ALSO, Byrd was named as the 2015 recipient of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) William Dameshek Prize for his contributions to the development of transformative treatments for CLL, most notably rituximab and ibrutinib.
Paskett Delivers 2015 AACR Distinguished Lecture on Cancer Health Disparities
Electra D. Paskett, PhD, MSPH, associate director for population sciences and co-leader of the Cancer Control Program at the OSUCCC – James, received the 2015 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Distinguished Lecture award on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities. As recipient of this national honor, Paskett presented an award lecture at the Eighth Annual AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved, which was held in Atlanta, Ga. Her lecture focused on her current work in addressing cancer disparities.
Surgeon Accepts ‘Gentle Giant Award’ From Pituitary Network
Association Daniel Prevedello, MD, director of Ohio State’s Minimally Invasive Cranial Surgery Program, received a Gentle Giant Award from the Pituitary Network Association at its Gentle Giant Award Reception and Dinner, held in April 2015 at Ohio State. The reception and dinner followed Ohio State’s Pituitary Symposium: Updates and Current Management, a daylong conference that provided a comprehensive review of surgical and medical treatments and management of pituitary conditions. The Gentle Giant Award honored Prevedello for his exemplary accomplishments in pituitary medicine. He is internationally recognized in minimally invasive surgery for brain, pituitary and skull-base tumors. His surgical practice encompasses the full spectrum of brain and skull-base tumors, both benign and malignant, treated with minimally invasive and conventional approaches.
Chakravarti Appointed to Chair NIH Cancer Biomarkers Study Section
Arnab Chakravarti, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Ohio State, was appointed to chair the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Cancer Biomarkers Study Section (CBSS). In addition, he received the American College of Radiology Oncology (ACRO) Distinguished Service Award at ACRO’s 2015 annual meeting in Washington, D.C. The award recognized his sentinel leadership contributions to ACRO, especially in chairing the previous two ACRO annual meetings. Also, Chakravarti received a Congress Lectureship at the 2015 meeting of The International Congress for Radiation Research (ICRR) held in Kyoto, Japan. He presented “Novel Personalized Care Strategies in Radiation Oncology,” an invited ICRR talk on prostate cancer and gliomas.
Walker Serves in 2 National Oncology Leadership Roles
Jeff Walker, MBA, senior executive director for administration at the OSUCCC – James, served a one-year term on the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Executive Committee. He was elected to the term effective March 13, 2015, by the Board of Directors for the NCCN, a non-profit alliance of 27 leading cancer centers that establishes national clinical oncology practice guidelines. Ohio State is a charter member of the NCCN. The NCCN Executive Committee manages and administers NCCN affairs and transacts all regular business between NCCN board meetings. Walker is also serving a three-year term as treasurer of the Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI). That term began in January 2015.
Burd is Recipient of Prestigious Damon Runyon- Rachleff Innovation Award
Christin Burd, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry and the Department of Molecular Genetics at Ohio State, and a member of the OSUCCC – James, is among seven scientists nationwide with novel approaches to fighting cancer who were named as 2016 recipients of the Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award. This grant, for $300,000 over two years, goes to early-career scientists whose projects have the potential to impact cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment. The foundation says the award “funds cancer research by exceptionally creative thinkers with ‘highrisk/ high-reward’ ideas who lack sufficient preliminary data to obtain traditional funding.” Yung Lie, PhD, deputy director and chief scientific officer for the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, confirmed that Burd is the first person at Ohio State and in Ohio to receive the Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award. Burd proposes mutation-specific studies in a variety of tumor types, starting with melanoma, thyroid cancer and acute myeloid leukemia.
Winter Featured in Cancer Today Cover Story
Jessica Winter, PhD, a professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Ohio State, was featured in the cover story in the winter 2015/2016 issue of Cancer Today, a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research. The story chronicles her journey as a scientist and cancer survivor. Winter is a leader in nanobiotechnology who in 2014 was elected as a fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science for her contributions to biomedical engineering, particularly the synthesis and development of magnetic quantum dots for cell imaging and separation. This area of study is being applied more and more to such health care applications as cancer detection and diagnosis.
OSUCCC – James Launches ‘Introduction to the Science of Cancer’ Online Course
The OSUCCC – James in October 2015 launched a free online course called “Introduction to the Science of Cancer” to encourage a global commitment to cancer prevention. In this course, oncologists and researchers at the OSUCCC – James explain the scientific basis of cancer and key cancer concepts in a series of videos and present them in accessible, user-friendly terms. The course has five modules that focus on basic background information, diagnosis, treatment, prevention and research. The goal is to encourage cancer prevention globally to reduce the expected rise in cancer incidence in coming years due to the growth and aging of the world population. The course is open to anyone who wants a better understanding of cancer— particularly in under-resourced areas—such as nurses, nursing and medical students, secondary-school teachers, reporters/editors, social workers, and community- and ministry-of-health personnel. Darrell E. Ward, MS, associate director for cancer communications, led development of the course, which will be available in May through iTunes U. For more information or to register, visit go.osu.edu/scienceofcancer.
Ohio State Selected for National Pancreatic Consortium and Gains NPF Center Designation
The Ohio State University has been selected as one of 10 members of a national Consortium to Study Chronic Pancreatitis, Diabetes and Pancreatic Cancer (CSCPDPC). Funding for this award will be $2.3 million over five years. Darwin Conwell, MD, is principal investigator (PI) for the consortium project at Ohio State, where the co-PIs are Tanios Bekaii-Saab, MD, Phil Hart, MD, and Greg Lesinski, PhD. In addition, Ohio State’s multidisciplinary pancreas program, which treats both cancerous and non-cancerous conditions, has been designated as a National Pancreas Foundation (NPF) Center, one of 30 hospitals nationwide and the only adult hospital in Ohio to earn this distinction.
Cancer Rehabilitation Specialty Program Earns CARF Accreditation
The Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, or CARF International, accredited The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center for three years in nine rehabilitation programs, including the Cancer Rehabilitation Specialty Program. CARF indicated that the medical center is the first in Ohio, second in the nation and third in the world to achieve Cancer Rehabilitation Specialty accreditation. Also accredited were the Inpatient Rehabilitation Program, Brain Injury Specialty Program, Spinal Core System of Care, Stroke Specialty Program, Interdisciplinary Outpatient Medical Rehabilitation Program, Outpatient Medical Rehabilitation Program, Outpatient Brain Injury Specialty Program, and Outpatient Spinal Core System of Care. Kris Kipp, MSN, RN, executive director of cancer patient services and chief nursing officer at the OSUCCC – James, called the Cancer Rehabilitation Specialty accreditation “an excellent example of patient-focused collaboration and the results that can be achieved together.”
3-Year Accreditation Granted for Human Genetics Sample Bank
The Human Genetics Sample Bank at the OSUCCC – James received a three-year accreditation from the College of American Pathologists (CAP) for the following services: Biorepository General; General Specimen Processing; Nucleic Acid Extraction; Specimen Collection/Procurement; Specimen Distribution and Agreement; Specimen Informatics; and Specimen Storage. Heather Hampel, MS, LGC, associate director for the Division of Human Genetics at Ohio State and associate director for biospecimen research at the OSUCCC – James, says the accreditation is valid through June 2018 and represents “the gold standard of biorepository accreditation.”
Ohio State Earns LEED® Gold Certification for New James
The U.S. Green Building Council has awarded LEED® GOLD certification to Ohio State for the new home of the James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, which opened in December 2014. LEED, an acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a rating system that guides the nation’s building industry and provides standards for environmental and economic efficiency.