Expanded Footprint

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center has established new leadership positions as the network expands the reach of its clinical services.

The new positions are executive medical director, senior medical director for VICC Cancer Care Network and Strategy and chief surgical officer.

Laura Goff, MD, MSCI, is the executive medical director of the VICC Cancer Patient Care Center. Photo by Susan Urmy.

Laura Goff, MD, MSCI, associate professor of Medicine, has been named the executive medical director of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) Cancer Patient Care Center.  She will oversee the cancer clinical enterprise in Nashville, including the flagship Henry-Joyce Cancer Clinic, among other responsibilities.

Those responsibilities include managing the physician staff, collaborating with department chairs on recruitment, enhancing patient satisfaction and operational efficiencies, promoting VICC’s multidisciplinary approach, ensuring that medical education and clinical research are integrated into clinical care, and partnering with other VICC leaders to advance strategic planning and grow market share.

Goff will also direct medical care at the Vanderbilt Health One Hundred Oaks cancer clinic and a new VICC cancer clinic  at Belle Meade that opened in January.

“Laura Goff has the oncology experience and the leadership skills for this key clinical and operational position for the Cancer Center,” said Jennifer Pietenpol, PhD, B.F. Byrd Jr. Professor of Oncology, Executive Vice President for Research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, director of Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center and holder of the Brock Family Directorship in Career Development.

“Vanderbilt-Ingram is a matrix center that crosses and includes most departments within the School of Medicine and School of Nursing. Because of the size and complexity of this enterprise, focused management on the development and coordination of cancer clinical activities is essential. Dr. Goff has served as medical director of Hematology-Oncology since 2018 and served as associate director of the Hematology/ Oncology Fellowship Program from 2009 to 2019.

“She has participated in multiple successful initiatives as well, including efforts to maintain and improve quality control, make clinical operations more efficient, safeguard patient care and mentor other physicians. She is highly respected by her colleagues and patients, and I look forward to working with her on many new initiatives,” Pietenpol said.

Goff specializes in gastrointestinal cancer with a research focus on targeted drug development. One of her primary research interests is translating preclinical science into combination therapies for liver, gallbladder and bile duct cancers.

Nancy Davis, MD, is senior medical director for VICC Cancer Care Network and Strategy. Photo by Susan Urmy.

Nancy Davis, MD, has been named senior medical director for VICC Cancer Care Network and Strategy, a position responsible for expanding cancer clinics within and beyond the Middle Tennessee catchment area.

Davis, associate professor of Medicine, most recently served as group leader for Urologic Oncology and chief of the Solid Tumor Service Line. She was recruited to VICC in 2018 from Aurora BayCare Medical Center and the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. She is a U.S. Army veteran, who attained the rank of captain.

The clinics in the network Davis will oversee include locations in Cool Springs, Spring Hill and Springfield with others opening this year in Lebanon and Chattanooga.

“Nancy Davis has the leadership skills and community oncology expertise necessary for this new position. In recent years, the strategic focus of Vanderbilt-Ingram has broadened and catalyzed marked growth of our cancer clinical enterprise,” Pietenpol said. “Across oncology services, Vanderbilt University Medical Center has experienced an approximate 40% increase in outpatient visits over the past five years, leading to increased capture of the market share in Tennessee. In this new position, we looked for someone with the skill set to strategize clinical care, maintain quality, improve operations and expand the footprint of our enterprise through collaborations with Vanderbilt clinical and business leaders as well as our relationships through the Vanderbilt Health Affiliated Network.”

Davis has helped lead several initiatives at VICC, serving on the Clinical Trial Scientific Review Oversight Committee, the Clinical Trials Billing/Finance Navigation Committee, the Medical Oncology Fellowship Program Evaluation Committee and the Data and Safety Monitoring Committee.

Sam Chang, MD, MBA, is chief surgical officer at VICC. Photo by Susan Urmy.

Sam Chang, MD, MBA, has been named chief surgical officer at VICC, a position responsible for advancing excellence in surgical care in cancer patients, expanding service locations, maximizing resource efficiencies and maintaining high-quality standards among other duties.

Over the past decade, VICC has experienced growth in surgical volumes and added highly specialized surgical procedures, which led to the need for the new leadership position. VICC is also increasingly offering surgical care at more places than its Nashville campus.

Chang, the Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor of Urologic Surgery, is a world-renowned surgeon with the expertise to serve as chief surgical officer.

“Our continued success is dependent on delivering a seamless, integrated experience across the medical, surgical and radiation oncology disciplines that serve the cancer patient, while also advancing research discoveries,” Pietenpol said. “As we embark on further network expansion, it is critical that we establish a leadership structure that positions us to work across our academic departments to deliver a multidisciplinary clinical approach for patients in our catchment area. We are excited to announce that Dr. Chang will become our first chief surgical officer at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center.”

Chang has been principal investigator of clinical trials that have led to practice-changing care models for prostate cancer and bladder cancer and, in the process, orchestrated the initiation and expansion of multiple cancer-related treatment protocols at VICC and elsewhere. He has led efforts in the integration of evidence-based medicine in clinical pathways, enhanced national guidelines and improved urologic cancer staging. n