Lajos Pusztai Named Head of Breast Medical Oncology
I am pleased to announce the appointment of Lajos Pusztai, MD, DPhil, a distinguished medical oncologist with great success in translational cancer medicine, to lead the breast cancer medical oncology team at Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven and as director of the breast cancer research group and co-director of the Cancer Genetics Research Program. Dr. Pusztai joins Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center; he will begin his new appointment at Yale on August 1, 2012.
Dr. Pusztai has a remarkable ability to integrate basic breast cancer research to improve outcomes and develop new treatment options for women with breast cancer. His research focuses on the developing pharmacogenomic markers of response to breast cancer therapy and identifying methods to select the optimal treatment for each patient. His goal is to discover the next generation of tamoxifen- and trastuzumab-like drugs through the identification of critical drug targets in human breast cancer. Dr. Pusztai is principal investigator of several clinical trials investigating new drugs and molecular predictors of disease outcome.
Ted Tsangaris Joins the Breast Center at Smilow
Also joining the Breast Center team at Smilow is Dr. Thoedore Tsangaris. Dr. Tsangaris has been appointed the Medical Director of Breast Services for the Smilow Cancer Hospital Network. He will help us in future endeavors with other campuses, as we develop a more prominent footprint in the state.
Dr. Tsangaris' research interests include breast cancer prevention, identification of tumor markers, and sentinel lymph node dissection, as well as other surgical procedures in the treatment of breast cancer. He is currently Chief of Breast Surgery and Director of the Johns Hopkins Avon Breast Center at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center. He is also a Commander in the United States Navy Reserve. Dr. Tsangaris will join the Breast Center faculty on July 1, 2012.
Mike Dixon will Visit Yale
Professor Mike Dixon, MD, an internationally renowned breast surgeon and Director of the Breakthrough Research Unit from Edinburgh, Scotland, will be joining us as a Visiting Professor on a three-month sabbatical starting in mid-August. Mike is well-known for innovative surgical techniques, neoadjuvant endocrine therapy studies, and translational science in personalized medicine. He will be involved in the clinical, educational and research missions of the Breast Center while he is here, and we are looking forward to welcoming him to the Breast Center team.
Yale Cancer Center Retreat - May 15
I would like to invite you to join us at the annual Yale Cancer Center Retreat, to be held on May 15th, 7:30am-5:00pm, at the Waterview in Monroe, CT. The goal of our retreat is to foster scientific and social interactions among faculty, post-docs, and students affiliated with YCC. The program will include a full agenda of scientific presentations and discussions. Presentations by: Karen Anderson, Marcus Bosenberg, Joe Contessa, Daniel DiMaio, Ayman Sayed El Guindy, Scott Gettinger, Roy Herbst, Melinda Irwin, Beth Jones, Megan King, Anthony Koleske, Richard Lifton, Brett Lindenbach, Thomas Lynch, Steve Ma, Andrew Philips, Warren Shlomchik, Frank Slack, David Stern, and John Wysolmerski. Please RSVP to Christine Holmberg.
Discovery to Cure Seeks Labs to Participate in Internship Program
The Discovery to Cure High School Internship Program needs scientists
to mentor one of the outstanding young interns who will be accepted into this year's Program. The Program will provide every participating lab with a $500 stipend for every student that it mentors. Students may be mentored by a PI, MD, postdoc, or research assistant in your lab.
Admittance is competitive and based on an initial recommendation from the students' science teachers, followed by a formal application that is reviewed by the Discovery to Cure High School Internship Committee. All students chosen to participate agree to complete the entire Program are given comprehensive lab safety and HIPAA training by Yale OEHS prior to beginning the Program. To learn more, please contact Joann Bilyard
Smilow Updates
Ostomy Clinic
Smilow Cancer Hospital is now offering an Ostomy Clinic for all patients who have an ileostomy, colostomy, or urostomy. Lucinda Pinchot, BSN CWOCRN is a certified Ostomy Nurse (Enterostomal Nurse) who has been giving ostomy care for 15 years and specializes in difficult to manage ostomies and patient and family education regarding ostomy care. If you have patients with an ostomy, Lucinda is available to assist them with quality of life issues and managing an ostomy. Please call (203) 200-4422 to schedule an appointment.
New Staff
Chileshe Ferris recently started as an Intake Specialist for the Melanoma Program at Smilow Cancer Hospital.
The Employee Profile recognizes the diverse contributions made by Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital staff have to meet our patient care, research, education, and outreach goals. The staff profiled are examples of the great work being done here, and the dedication and values we possess. To suggest someone to be profiled, please contact Emily Fenton.
Since Savannah Woods, Fellowship Coordinator for the Yale Medical Oncology-Hematology Program, started at Yale seven years ago, the program, along with her job title, have grown dramatically. Originally, Savannah oversaw 15 fellows in Medical Oncology. In 2010 she took on the Hematology Fellowship and this year, the Medical Oncology and Hematology Fellowship Programs received approval to become a combined fellowship, and Savannah is now responsible for 21 fellows, with three more to be added over the next three years.
Savannah is responsible for managing changes to clinic schedules, the set up of weekly didactic lectures, conferences and meetings, as well as coordination of the annual application process for recruitment of new fellows to the program. She organizes the applicant interviews, as well as the credentials process for incoming fellows. Additionally, she coordinates the annual fellow orientation and graduation. "The Yale Medical Oncology-Hematology Program is now one of the largest programs here at Yale. In order to keep everything running smoothly and meet continual deadlines, one must be a self-starter, committed to the job at hand and constantly aware of ongoing changes. It's important to have ownership of the job you are doing, and staying organized is key," said Savannah
The Program also holds a quarterly meeting where any issues are brought up, and Savannah, along with Program Director Dr. Jill Lacy, are tasked with resolving them. Between interacting with the fellows on a daily basis, dealing with last minute requests, and training on new systems, Savannah's job is non-stop. Her supervisor, Jennifer Mulligan, Associate Director of Finance and Administration, commented, "Savannah's position as Fellowship Coordinator has grown tremendously since she first started. In addition to implementing many new processes and systems, she has taken on the combined Medical Oncology and Hematology Fellowship Programs. Her job takes hard work and dedication, and Savannah exemplifies both."
Funding Opportunities
Yale School of Public Health Ovarian Cancer Research Grants
This annual award is made possible by a generous gift from the Tina Brozman Foundation. The award is to provide funding for a pilot project in ovarian cancer prevention, detection, and survivorship research, which would ultimately lead to national peer-reviewed grants.
Professors, Associate Professors, Assistant Professors, and Research Track faculty of all ranks are eligible to apply. There are no restrictions for citizenship. A one-year grant up to $25,000 will be awarded and will commence on July 1, 2012.
Program Project Development Grants ($900,000) provide funds for ovarian cancer research projects that may involve several investigators within one institution or collaborations between groups in multiple institutions.
Liz Tilberis Scholars Awards ($450,000) are for investigators in their first academic faculty appointment. This award is open to physician-scientists (Gynecologic Oncology, Medical Oncology) and PhD scientists.
Ann Schreiber Research Training Programs of Excellence Grant ($75,000) funds post-doctoral trainees working in established ovarian cancer research groups.
Department of Defense Lung Cancer Research Program Grants
Idea Development Award
Independent investigators at or above the level of an Assistance Professor (or equivalent); must be within 10 years of first faculty appointment.
Supports new ideas that are in the early stages of development, which represent innovative, high-risk/high-gain research that could lead to critical discoveries or major advances that will accelerate progress toward eradicating deaths from lung cancer.
Maximum funding of $350K for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
Maximum period of performance is 2 years.
Translational Research Partnership Award
Investigators at or above the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent).
Partnership: One investigator must be a laboratory scientist, and the other must be a clinician.
Supports partnership[s between clinicians and laboratory scientists that accelerate the movement of promising ideas in lung cancer into clinical applications.
Preliminary data required, but may be from outside of lung cancer.
Clinical trials are not allowed.
Maximum combined funding of $900K for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
Maximum period of performance is 3 years.
Interagency Oncology Task Force Fellowship Opportunity
The Interagency Oncology Task Force (IOTF), a joint initiative between The National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is now accepting applications for program 3: Oncology Product Research/Review Fellows. This is a unique fellowship training opportunity for Ph.D.s, M.D.s, and M.D./Ph.D.s with three to five years of postdoctoral training in a cancer-related topic.
This fellowship will train individuals in the aspects of research and review of medical product development process to facilitate the movement of drugs, biologics, and devices from the bench to the bedside. Participants will spend up to two years at FDA and receive formal training and mentoring, and will participate in medical product development research projects. Graduates of this program will develop skills of value to academia, the pharmaceutical industry, and government agencies.
2012 Outstanding Investigator Award for Breast Cancer Research
The American Association for Cancer Research announces a call for nominations for the 2012 AACR Outstanding Investigator Award for Breast Cancer Research, funded by Susan G. Komen for the Cure®.
The AACR Outstanding Investigator Award for Breast Cancer Research is awarded to an investigator of no more than 50 years of age whose novel work has had or may have a far-reaching impact on the etiology, detection, diagnosis, treatment or prevention of breast cancer. The work for which the individual is recognized may involve any discipline across the continuum of biomedical research, including basic, translational, clinical and epidemiological studies.
Ted Tsangaris Joins the Breast Center at Smilow
