William Tansey, PhD, Ingram Professor of Cancer Research and professor of Cell and Developmental Biology, has been named associate director for Shared Resources. He will oversee 10 resources: animal and human imaging; bioanalytics and proteomics; chemical synthesis and high-throughput analytics; cell imaging; data science; flow cytometry; genome editing; genomic sciences; survey and biospecimen; and translational pathology. In addition to his leadership roles at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Tansey has an active research lab that focuses on transcriptional dysregulation in cancer cells.
Douglas Johnson, MD, MSCI, professor of Medicine and holder of the Susan and Luke Simons Directorship, has been named associate director for Translational Research. He will oversee the implementation of emerging treatments and therapy advancements, such as cellular therapies, immunotherapies and targeted therapies. Johnson, who is clinical director of melanoma at Vanderbilt-Ingram, has expertise in this realm, having been an investigator on early clinical trials for immuno-therapies and having recently implemented a tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte therapy service line for patients.
Douglas Kojetin, PhD, Ingram Associate Professor of Cancer Research and associate professor of Biochemistry, will join two other experts as co-leader of the Genome Maintenance Research Program. He joins Tansey and David Cortez, PhD, the Hortense B. Ingram Professor of Cancer Research and chair of the Department of Biochemistry, at the helm. The Genome Maintenance Research Program focuses on understanding how DNA is damaged, repaired, packaged, expressed and replicated. These are processes that have roles in carcinogenesis.
Kristen Ciombor, MD, MSCI, Ingram Associate Professor of Cancer Research and associate professor of Medicine, has been named co-leader of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Research Program. She brings a wealth of knowledge to this role, having previously been co-leader of the Translational Research and Interventional Oncology Research Program. She is nationally and internationally recognized for her clinical research program and clinical expertise in colon cancer. Ciombor also serves as the principal investigator for the National Cancer Institute-funded National Clinical Trials Network Lead Academic Participating Site grant at Vanderbilt-Ingram.
Cody Stubblefield, RN, OCN, works in the cancer infusion center at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center and is a Vanderbilt Health DAISY Award winner. A 21-year-old patient with small veins nominated him for the honor after he came to the rescue whenever the patient needed an IV for chemo- therapy. “He was reassuring and successful in getting my treatment going. Every. Single. Time. He knew how to keep me calm and made the process so much better overall,” the patient wrote. The DAISY Award is a recognition for extraordinary nurses who exemplify compassion toward patients and families.
Eben Rosenthal, MD, professor and chair of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, holder of the Barry and Amy Baker Chair in Laryngeal, Head and Neck Research, and primary investigator of Vanderbilt-Ingram’s Barry and Amy Baker Research Laboratory, has been elected to membership in the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), a preeminent advisory body on critical matters of health care, medicine and public health. The NAM noted his “many ‘firsts’” in clinical trials using novel imaging agents and methods to further define surgical imaging in head and neck and other cancers. Among them: optical imaging techniques to improve cancer detection during surgery and molecular imaging of tumors with fluorescently labeled therapeutic antibodies.
Ashley Colburn, BSN, RN, works at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center Belle Meade and is a Vanderbilt Health DAISY Award winner. A patient’s family member nominated her because of her compassionate care and warm welcomes. “Ashley greeted us with a smile that warms the heart. She comes right in asking what we’d like to drink, does he want a warm blanket and even adjusts his pillow, all before the infusion even gets started. Within five minutes, in walks Ashley with meds in hand, hooks up his meds, and we are off,” the family member wrote. The DAISY Award is a recognition for extraordinary nurses who exemplify compassion toward patients and families.