Twenty years ago, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) established the nation’s first Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) to focus exclusively on colorectal cancer, the second leading cancer killer after lung cancer. Directed by Robert J. Coffey, MD, and continuously funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) since 2002, the gastrointestinal (GI) SPORE has fostered a […]
Fifty-three years after U.S. astronauts became the first humans to walk on the moon, VICC researchers are participating in an equally audacious adventure—a “Cancer Moonshot” aimed at cracking the conundrum of colorectal cancer. Funded through the $1.8 billion 21st Century Cures Act passed by Congress in 2016, the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Moonshot Initiative has […]
Claudia Barajas recently put on headphones at El Jefe, a Nashville-based Hispanic radio station, to moderate an information-packed discussion about lung cancer prevention and the importance of screenings for individuals at higher risk of developing lung cancer. Her Spanish-speaking guest was Rafael Paez, MD, a clinical fellow in the Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy, […]
Charlotte Ladd’s work history has been a series of serendipitous opportunities ranging from investment banking to oncology nursing to teaching immigrant nurses in Florida. But it’s her work as a volunteer at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center that has brought her the greatest joy. Ladd volunteers on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the waiting room of the Henry-Joyce […]
For 51 years, life had been pretty easy. I’ve lived a very average, comfortable and ordinary life. Not boring, just ordinary. Not perfect, but happy and content. I grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, a nice, safe small town with good Midwestern values, with my parents and older brother. Whether it was life challenges thrown […]
I’m excited as the new director of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center to share with you some thoughts and updates. I have already experienced warm welcomes from so many of you in this new role, and it has reminded me how truly special our cancer center is. Thanks to all of you for making my transition […]
A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine highlights how some older Americans diagnosed with cancer can face unlimited out-of-pocket spending for prescription drugs under the current structure of the Medicare Part D benefit. The analysis, authored by Stacie Dusetzina, PhD, Ingram associate professor of Cancer Research and associate professor of Health Policy, […]
Major Players Daniel Beauchamp, MD, the John Clinton Foshee Distinguished Professor of Surgery, and Ethan Lee, MD, PhD, professor of Cell & Developmental Biology and Pharmacology: high-throughput screening to identify drug-like molecules, targeting the TGF-beta and WNT pathways Jordan Berlin, MD, co-director of the GI SPORE, interim director of the Division of Hematology and Oncology, […]
Abby Shields is the program manager for Affiliations and Research Advocacy at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. Q: What do research advocates do? A: Our advocates are a group of cancer survivors and caregivers who work alongside our researchers to ensure the research conducted at VICC is timely, relevant and serves the needs of our catchment area. […]
We’re unlikely as patients to ever meet a pathologist, those doctors who, having examined samples of our blood or tissue, write reports and speak with our attending physicians about what’s fundamentally going on with our cases. When it comes to cancer treatment, how involved are these doctors? Take it from an oncologist: “The role of […]
