by Tom Wilemon
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 slated to open in Belle Meade 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.
“The cancer enterprise is poised to make tremendous gains as a destination cancer center for many highly specialized malignant conditions, while focusing on the best practices of workplace communication and operation in the evolving health care environment,” said W. Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD, Cornelius Abernathy Professor and interim chair of the Department of Medicine.
“Dr. Goff’s focus on multidisciplinary care approaches, advanced therapeutics and integration of clinical investigation into the daily care of patients, and her strong experience in mentorship make her ideally suited to take this role at this time. I am delighted to get to work with Dr. Goff on advancing all aspects of how we institutionally approach delivering the best possible care for patients with cancer.”
Goff is an executive committee member of the International Cholangiocarcinoma Research Network and a member of the National Cancer Institute Hepatobiliary Task Force. She chaired the Pancreatic/Hepatobiliary Disease Work Group, Gastrointestinal Committee of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group from 2014 to 2017 and was also a member of the Professional Development Committee of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) during that same time frame. She is currently a member of the ASCO Guidelines Panel for Systemic Therapy for Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma. She is the Vanderbilt-Ingram physician liaison to Gilda’s Club of Middle Tennessee and also a member of its Medical Resource Center.
Goff has a B.S. in chemistry from Duke University, a medical degree from the University of Texas Medical School at San Antonio, Texas and a Masters in Clinical Investigation (MSCI) from Vanderbilt University.
