Two physician-scientists at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have been recognized by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Quality Scholars (VAQS) Fellowship program for implementing and evaluating innovative lung cancer screening programs for veterans.
Lucy Spalluto, MD, MPH, professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, and Jennifer Lewis, MD, MS, MPH, assistant professor of Medicine, are the recipients of the 2024 VAQS Team Award for work they began in 2017 as VAQS fellows enrolled in the Vanderbilt Master of Public Health program.
In 2019, upon completing their joint project, developing a lung cancer screening program for the VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System (TVHS), Lewis and Spalluto were selected to co-lead an evaluation of the national Veterans Affairs — Partnership to Increase Access to Lung Screening (VA-PALS).
Funded through the VA Office of Rural Health and the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation, an independent charitable organization, VA-PALS evaluated the implementation of 10 lung cancer screening programs across the Veterans Health Administration.
The project was conducted in collaboration with VA physician-scientists and the Vanderbilt Center for Clinical Quality and Implementation Research.
As of 2023, more than 20,000 veterans had been screened for lung cancer at VA-PALS sites. To date, the evaluation project has generated 10 scientific articles on lung cancer screening co-authored by Lewis and Spalluto.
“They applied skills mastered during the fellowship, including process mapping, to study workflow adaptations and influence program improvement,” observed Robert Dittus, MD, MPH, Chief Innovation Officer & Senior Vice President of the Vanderbilt Health Affiliated Network, who directs the VAQS program at TVHS.
Their work influenced the VA to establish a National Center for Lung Cancer Screening, and together they leveraged their shared skillsets to obtain more than $6 million in grant funding since completing their fellowship. “They are role models for successful team science,” Dittus said.
Lewis, whose faculty appointment is in the Division of Hematology and Oncology, has focused her efforts on understanding providers’ perspectives in implementing lung cancer screening, while Spalluto has focused on the patient’s experience in imaging-based cancer screening through community-engaged research.
Their work “is an excellent example of applying approaches from implementation science to directly improve health care delivery and health outcomes for patients,” said Sunil Kripalani, MD, MSc, VUMC Vice President for Health System Sciences, and director of the Center for Health Services Research.
“Receiving this award is a recognition of the power of teamwork and mentorship,” said Spalluto, who thanked the VAQS Coordinating Team Center for the award, the VAQS program for the gained expertise, and her partner Lewis “for years of shared wisdom and dedicated effort.”
“This award is a demonstration of how we can turn collective knowledge into meaningful advancements with the ultimate goal of enhancing patient care,” she said.
Lewis also expressed gratitude for the recognition. “It is because of VAQS that I gained invaluable research skills and experience as well as incredible mentors and colleagues, such as Dr. Spalluto,” she said.
“We have been able to support each other in building our own research programs while teaching each other along the way,” Lewis continued. “VAQS really set the stage for my career as a physician-scientist and VA investigator.”
Moving forward, Lewis and Spalluto have extended lung cancer screening to veterans with toxic exposures, and head-and-neck cancer survivors in multiple VA organizations. They are working with the VA Lung Precision Oncology Program to study mobile lung cancer screening for veterans in rural Tennessee and Kentucky.
“Their shared goal for the future of their research program,” noted the VAQS Coordinating Center team, “is to ensure all veterans have access to safe, high-quality, imaging-based cancer screening.”
