Leadership & Expert Views - Cancer Currents Blog
Commentaries from scientific leaders at NCI and other institutions about cancer research topics, programs, and initiatives.
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Advancing Patient Care Through Focused InnovationNCI Director Dr. Norman Sharpless describes the focus areas of opportunity he has identified that, with enhanced attention from NCI, he believes can accelerate progress in cancer research and care.
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Forging Military Partnerships to Empower the Cancer Research EnterprisePartnerships and collaborations are an important component of NCI’s success. NCI Director Dr. Norman Sharpless describes three efforts made possible by a memorandum of agreement with three US military institutions: the APOLLO network, NAVIGATE, and BD-STEP.
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The Imperative of Addressing Cancer Drug Costs and ValueThe President’s Cancer Panel has released its latest report, Promoting Value, Affordability, and Innovation in Cancer Drug Treatment. The report recommends six actions to maximize the value and affordability of cancer drug treatment.
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Retooling NCI MERIT Awards to Support Budding Cancer ResearchersNCI Director Dr. Norman Sharpless discusses how NCI is retooling a grant mechanism, called the MERIT R37 Award, to help early-stage investigators by extending the length of time they can receive funding under their first independent NIH grant.
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The Challenging Landscape of Cancer and Aging: Charting a Way ForwardNCI Director Dr. Norman Sharpless discusses research on aging and cancer, including understanding the biology of aging and its relationship to cancer, the treatment of older patients, and ensuring older patients participate in cancer clinical trials.
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NCI: Taking Risks to Advance ScienceNorman Sharpless, M.D., offers his thoughts on his experience thus far as NCI director and areas, like big data, where NCI can play an important role in advancing science.
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Expanding Cancer Clinical Trial Access for Patients with HIVPeople with HIV are often excluded from clinical trials to protect their safety. Preliminary results from an NCI-sponsored study of an immunotherapy drug show that people with HIV can safely participate in clinical trials.
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An Important Moment in Tobacco ControlNovember 26, 2017, marked a unique moment in US public health history, with the major US tobacco companies issuing the first in a series of court-ordered "corrective statements" about their products.
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Expanding Smoking Cessation Services at NCI-Designated Cancer Centers: An Interview with Dr. Glen MorganNCI’s Dr. Glen Morgan discusses NCI’s Cancer Center Cessation Initiative, including how and why this smoking cessation initiative was developed and its long-term goals.
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Assuming the Role of NCI Director: Working to Accelerate ProgressNorman Sharpless, M.D., discusses his appointment as the director of the National Cancer Institute and his plans for continuing NCI’s long tradition of research excellence and commitment to improving people’s lives.
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Kids First Pediatric Research Program Moves ForwardProgress continues to be made with the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Program, which is creating opportunities for investigators from different research communities to share resources and collaborate on research into childhood cancers and certain birth defects.
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Overcoming the Challenges of Metastatic Cancer: An Interview with Dr. Rosandra KaplanNCI’s Dr. Rosandra Kaplan discusses important trends in metastatic cancer research and new ideas for treating and preventing metastatic cancer.
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Bringing the Investigational Breast Cancer Drug Endoxifen from Bench to Bedside with NCI SupportResearchers recognized the potential of endoxifen as a treatment for breast cancer and, with NCI support, developed the compound into a drug now being tested in clinical trials.
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NCI Program Supports Small Businesses to Advance Cancer Research Innovation – A Q&A with Michael WeingartenNCI’s Small Business Innovation Research Program recently issued contract solicitations to spur the development of new cancer-related therapies and technologies, including seven opportunities specific to the Cancer Moonshot.
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“First in Human” Documentary Highlights NCI Immunotherapy ResearchThe Discovery Channel special, First in Human, will feature some of the groundbreaking work on cancer immunotherapy being done at the NIH Clinical Center, including CAR T-cell therapy and TIL therapy.
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Glioblastoma—Unraveling the Threads: A Q&A with Drs. Mark Gilbert and Terri Armstrong of the NIH Neuro-Oncology BranchProgress against the brain cancer glioblastoma has been slow. Drs. Mark Gilbert and Terri Armstrong of NCI’s Neuro-Oncology Branch discuss why and what’s being done to change that.
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NCI’s Technology Transfer Center—Moving Inventions and Ideas from the Lab to Patients: An Interview with Dr. Michael SalgallerAn interview with Dr. Michael Salgaller about how NCI’s Technology Transfer Center helps to move new technologies developed by NCI and NIH scientists from the lab to the bedside.
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NCI's CURE Program—21 Years of Increasing Diversity in the Biomedical WorkforceNCI’s CURE program recently celebrated its 21st anniversary of providing training and other support to improve the diversity of people involved in cancer research and care.
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Improving Cancer Control in Rural Communities: Next StepsStudies continue to show disparities in cancer outcomes for people who live in rural parts of the United States. NCI’s Dr. Robert Croyle explains how the institute is working with multiple partners to better understand and address these disparities.
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Introducing DAVE: Online Analysis Tools for the Genomic Data CommonsNCI has released an online, open-access cancer research resource for the Genomic Data Commons called the Data Analysis, Visualization, and Exploration Tools, or DAVE.