A story features a 29-year-old patient with sarcoma and his experience with the SMMART clinical trial platform, designed to allow researchers to study an individual’s tumor in detail and track how the cells evolve in response to treatment. Lara Davis, M.D., describes how SMMART has benefited this particular patient: “The two medicines [have been] combined in clinical trials for some cancers but haven’t been used for this before. It was a unique combination we came to, based on his exposures, limitations of the medicines we could use for him and the susceptibilities we saw for his tumor."

A Q&A with Lisa Coussens, Ph.D., on her career, the importance of basic science and her goals as president of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). Coussens says: “As AACR president, one of my goals is to foster mentoring. In thinking about the workforce, you don’t wake up one day and say, 'I want to be a cancer scientist.' You have to foster that at a young age."

Featuring interviews with five different Knight Cancer leaders, the story notes the institute has hired dozens of computational engineers, physicians and other scientists with expertise spanning early detection, precision oncology and experimental therapeutics. Brian Druker, M.D., says: “An external advisory board came in and said, ‘Everyone talks about precision oncology, and you’re actually doing it the way it’s supposed to be done. It was an endorsement of the approach we’re taking here, a flexible and evolving approach to manage each patient with cancer."

Kathleen Carlson, Ph.D., advocates for multifaceted discussions and research related to gun violence.

In a story on the annual AACR Cancer Disparities annual progress report, Lisa Coussens, Ph.D., says: “The AACR is extremely concerned that racial and ethnic minorities continue to be underrepresented in cancer research and in clinical trials, especially because people of different ages, races and ethnicities may respond differently to cancer therapies."

In a HemOnc Today article on the importance of mentorship, Lisa Coussens, Ph.D., says one of her goals as AACR president is to “impact the next generation” through mentoring and other opportunities. She says: “One of the keys to success is to know your peer group and know your network so that you can go to them for feedback, advice, encouragement and collaboration.”

Geolani Dy, M.D., and Jae Downing, Ph.D. describe their efforts to center transgender patients in their health research through the Transgender and Non-Binary Allied Research Collective.

U.S. News & World Report’s Best Children’s Hospitals 2022-2023 ranks OHSU Doernbecher Children's Hospital in the top 50 nationwide, one of the top in the Pacific region, and the best in the state. Mary Beth Martin, B.S.N., M.B.A., says, “It is an honor to once again be recognized among the top children’s hospitals in the nation. We are proud of the work that our incredible team does each day, and more importantly, the positive impacts it has on everyone we serve.”

The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) now recommends a nationwide colorectal cancer screening approach, and aims to eliminate current barriers in the screening process. David Lieberman, M.D., chair of the AGA executive committee, says, “CRC screening saves lives, but only if people get screened. Cost sharing is an important barrier to screening, which contributes to racial, ethnic and socioeconomic inequities in colorectal cancer outcomes. The full cost of screening — including noninvasive tests and follow-up colonoscopies — should be covered without cost to patients.”

On how monkeypox can be prevented and even treated with smallpox vaccines, but the current outbreak will require a different approach than what has been used for COVID-19; Mark Slikfa, Ph.D., notes it would be best to vaccinate groups that are at highest risk.