At Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital we share an abiding commitment to making meaningful progress in cancer care equity. Eric Winer has launched a new initiative focused on cancer care disparities in Connecticut and has recruited an accomplished leader for this work. Our cancer care equity efforts took a big step forward with the recent arrival of Tracy Battaglia, MD, MPH. Dr. Battaglia will serve as the Associate Cancer Center Director for Cancer Care Equity. She comes from Boston Medical Center where she served as the Director of the Women’s Health Unit, the Women’s Interdisciplinary Research Center, and the Director of the Avon Breast Health Initiative. A renowned researcher, Dr. Battaglia’s NIH funded work has focused on cancer care disparities. She has demonstrated the importance of community engagement in enhancing cancer care access and she has also shown the effectiveness of patient navigation services in supporting the care of vulnerable populations.

As an expert in Cancer Care Navigation, Dr. Battaglia’s arrival is timely as the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has recently committed to reimbursing navigation services for patients with cancer and other complex illnesses. For many of our patients, these services make a critical difference in negotiating the maze of treatment locations, appointments, tests, and the financial challenges of our fragmented cancer care system. In the coming months, we will use these resources to build on our promise of delivering clinically outstanding and equitable cancer care for all our patients.

As we sharpen our focus on cancer care equity, we must remember that a key element of health equity is the time that clinicians and staff spend with our patients. When we take time to listen and understand a person’s treatment within the context of their lives, we connect with them in the most meaningful way. This connection not only improves care, but it also enhances the fulfillment we experience as clinicians and caregivers.

Kevin Billingsley, MD, MBA
Chief Medical Officer, Smilow Cancer Hospital
Yale Cancer Center

More than 100 members of the YCC and Smilow Cancer Hospital communities gathered last week for the annual Conclave awards recognizing outstanding research, clinical excellence and indispensable support. Prefaced by praise and explanations of their 2023 work, 18 people were applauded and given plaques commemorating their awards. Four cancer research award were made: clinical, translational, population science and basic science; two awards were for clinical excellence; one award each was given for three awards — excellence in service (a new award recognizing extraordinary service), mentorship, and teaching; one award was given for leadership in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI); and four YCC Director Awards were made for exceptional service.

Applause accompanied each award, but was particularly robust for the two winners of the prestigious Class of ‘61 Award, which includes $60,000 each to support their work.

The evening closed with a standing ovation for the Lifetime Achievement awardee Edward L. Snyder, MD, who made brief comments of thanks that were alternately amusing and poignant.

FULL ARTICLE AND PHOTOS HERE >

Lisa Arnel, Senior Administrative Assistant in Palliative Care at Smilow Cancer Hospital, was honored with an Out of the Blue Award for her work on the Yale Serious Illness Communication Skills Faculty Training Course held in February. Pictured with Lisa are Dr. Laura Morrison, director of Palliative Medicine Education, and Dr. Dmitry Kozhevnikov, director of Smilow Ambulatory Palliative Care. Dr. Morrison said: “Lisa went beyond in helping us put on this new course. Her preparation and creative solutions led to a very fruitful learning experience for our participants.”

At a recent ceremony at the Yale School of Medicine's historic library, YCC member Joachim Baehring, MD, professor of neurology and of neurosurgery was presented with a Distinguished Clinical Career Award. Dr. Baehring is associate chief of neurology; director of the Neuro-Oncology Fellowship Program; and vice chair of clinical affairs for Neurology. He joined YSM in 2002, and he built the medical Neuro-Oncology Program within Yale Cancer Center from the ground up. He established a practice for patients with primary and metastatic brain tumors, neurologic complications of cancer, and neurologic disorders of the highest complexity. For more than 15 years, Baehring led the multidisciplinary Brain Tumor Center — now named the Chênevert Family Brain Tumor Center after one of his patients. He established a Neuro-Oncology Patient Data Repository at the Brain Tumor Center, which serves as the basis for epidemiological, clinical, quality control studies, and basic science studies requiring correlation with clinical data. In 2009, Baehring established the Medical Neuro-Oncology Fellowship program at Yale and served as its director for over a decade.

Jun Deng, PhD, professor of Therapeutic Radiology and Director of Physic Research, recently was selected as one of the 15 experts for the NIH's Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Consortium to Advance Health Equity and Researcher Diversity (AIM-AHEAD) Program for Artificial Intelligence Readiness (PAIR). PAIR will connect institutions with AIM-AHEAD resources, AI/ML and health equity experts, and grant-writing coaches to help establish AI/ML Health Equity Research Labs that host cross-disciplinary teams for research projects and grant writing.

YCC Deputy Director Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD, Ensign Professor of Medicine (Medical Oncology) and Professor of Pharmacology as well as Chief of Medical Oncology, recently was honored at a gala benefitting the Ezra Academy and its fundraising goal of $200,000.

As our multidisciplinary cancer care models align to provide expert care to patients across all Smilow Cancer Hospital locations, the Center for Thoracic Cancers at Smilow Cancer Hospital and Yale Cancer Center expanded its leadership team.

Please welcome Sarah Goldberg, MD, MPH and Justin Blasberg, MD, MPH as Co-Directors of the Center. As Co-Directors, they will work closely with Dr. Katerina Politi, who will continue to serve as the leader for translational research in thoracic oncology. Drs. Goldberg and Blasberg will coordinate the efforts of a multidisciplinary leadership cabinet for the Center for Thoracic Cancers that will focus on developing specialty driven care, expanding clinical trial access, and leading implementation of thoracic oncology Care Signature pathways across the cancer care enterprise.

Dr. Goldberg is a prolific and renowned clinical investigator in lung cancer and brain metastases. She also serves as Chief of Thoracic Oncology and will concentrate her efforts on clinical research and our clinical trials portfolio. Dr. Blasberg is a national expert in minimally invasive thoracic surgery, and he has lead patient experience improvement efforts for the Yale School of Medicine Department of Surgery. He will partner closely with Dr. Goldberg on innovation and expansion of clinical services. We are grateful for the thoughtful leadership and contributions of Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD who has led the Center for Thoracic Centers since its inception, and Daniel Boffa, MD, MBA for his efforts, over the last several years. Their tireless efforts and commitment have led to great momentum for the Center for Thoracic Cancers. Both Dr. Herbst, who now has assumed the role as Deputy Director of the Cancer Center and continues to CO-Lead the Yale SPORE in Lung Cancer, and Dr. Boffa will remain important partners for the leadership of the Center as they advance strategic priorities in the coming years.

A first-person essay about long-term cancer survivorship, “Patient is Otherwise Healthy,” by Smilow’s Scott Capozza, PT, MSPT, has grabbed national attention for nearly two months. It’s been downloaded more than 4,500 times from JCO Oncology Practice which published it Feb. 5. Similarly, the articles has captured a wide audience across social media, including Twitter and LinkedIn. Capozza, who has been the physical therapist for the Smilow Cancer Hospital Survivorship Clinic since its inception in 2006, thanked Chief of Breast Medical Oncology Maryam Lustberg, MD, MPH “for her incredible support… and for her enthusiasm and guidance in bringing this patient perspective to publication.”

Laura Morrison, MD, FAAHPM, FACP was featured on the podcast STEAMD on the topic of “Balancing Act: Work-Life Balance and the Importance of Mental Health and Wellness.” The 77-minute broadcast featured Morrison, YSM Associate Professor and Smilow Director of Palliative Medicine Education, and Linda Friedlaender, who leads education at Yale Center for British Art.

A blog post by Jacquelyne Gaddy, MD, MSc, MSCR has been chosen for this year’s Best of ASCOconnection blogs special edition. The post by Dr. Gaddy, assistant professor (Medicine) is Deputy Director of the Diversity Enhancement Program in Oncology and a member of the Center for Community Engagement and Health Equity (CEHE), is “Challenge Your Biases: Understanding Your Patient Is Key to Providing High-Quality, Empathetic Care.”

In mid-March, Natalia Neparidze, MD, Research Leader, Myeloma Program, Hematology, was among the speakers at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Student Visionary Fundraiser where she gave a post-ASH update.

YCC has a long history of exceptional, high-impact research in basic, translational, clinical, and population sciences published in numerous journals.

Most recently they have included Annals of Internal Medicine, Cancer, Journal of Nuclear Medicine, Nature Chemical Biology, Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development, JCO Oncology Practice, Annals of Surgery, Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer, Molecular Cell, Journal of Neurology, JACC: CardioOncology, and the Journal of Clinical Oncology, to name a few.

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April 5 • 9 am The Department of Neurosurgery hosts the 2024 Katherine V. Sperry lecture in Neurosurgical Oncology, in the Cohen Auditorium. The new lectureship was established through the generosity of the grateful family of a patient in the hopes of better understanding and treating glioblastoma. The inaugural lecturer is a world leader in glioblastoma research and surgery, Dr. Chetan Bettegowda, of Johns Hopkins Neurosurgery.

April 7 • 7:30 pm WNPR 90.5 Yale Cancer Answers podcast: Yale Cancer Answers: Breakthrough Radiotherapy Provides New Options for Patients with Kimberly L. Johung, MD, PhD, Chief, Gastrointestinal Radiotherapy Program

April 12 • 9 am. Yale Cancer Center Grand Rounds: Dismantling Inequities in Colorectal Cancer Screening and Outcomes. Folasade May, MD, PhD, MPhil, UCLA Health. Hosted by Cancer Prevention and Control

April 19 • 9 am Yale Cancer Center Grand Rounds: Eric Winer, MD, presenting the State of Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital. Smilow Auditorium, 55 Park Street.

April 24 • 5 pm Smilow Cancer Hospital Town Hall via Zoom Webinar