Robert Wesolowski’s passions for patient care and cutting-edge research led him to Ohio State, where he works to improve the lives of today’s patients while studying tomorrow’s treatments. Get to know our January Physician of the Month: Better care through clinical research My research involves testing new and promising treatments for the first time in people in studies called phase one clinical trials. The main goal is to identify treatments that are safe and are showing some promising results in shrinking tumors and helping people live longer. We have wonderful treatments today — in particular for breast cancer — because women have participated in trials. It is always impressive to me how much patients really want to be part of this and help us find better treatments. Emphasis on immunotherapy My particular focus in clinical studies is immunotherapy, and how it can be utilized to enlist the immune system in doing a better job at fighting cancer. My hope is that these trials will result in some treatments, down the line in the future, which may help us cure cancer. A winning team Working at The James gives me an enormous opportunity to interact with basic scientists, as well as translational researchers, that help us conduct the best trials for people. The James truly has a very comprehensive amount of resources in terms of the talent of researchers and physicians, cutting-edge technologies that are used to treat patients and also expertise that you likely wouldn’t get at a smaller institution. That makes working here a lot of fulfilling. Partnering with patients At the center of our work is the patient. We approach every patient at The James as a unique person that needs to be treated based on the characteristics of their disease. I absolutely enjoy talking to patients — the feeling of knowing that we are delivering effective therapies to help them or giving them an opportunity to receive novel and promising treatments in clinical trials is overwhelming. Dual passions: research and patient care I chose a career in medicine partly because I was fascinated by the research aspect. My first favorite subject was genetics, and then when I went to college, I fell in love with immunology. I wanted to find a career path that allowed me to do research, while at the same time helping people who need it the most. So, I went to medical school and became a doctor. Community of support Central Ohio is particularly involved in cancer research and helping Ohio State develop new therapies. I participate in the Pelotonia bike ride, which is a wonderful event with overwhelming support. At its opening ceremonies, the crowd of people and the actual energy you feel is like nothing that I’ve ever experienced before. It’s just amazing.