As we honor Cancer Prevention Awareness Month, what do you feel is the most important message to share with our community?
I think that focusing on physical wellness is a critically important component of cancer prevention. This includes working towards a healthy diet and weight, maintaining regular physical activity, and avoiding or minimizing known behaviors or substances that are associated with increased risks of cancer such as tobacco and alcohol. Supporting mental and emotional well-being is important too, as there are known links between chronic stress and its impact on the immune system. Additionally, individuals should discuss what cancer screening is appropriate for them with their doctor. Screening for colorectal, breast, prostate, and lung cancer can save lives when used appropriately.
How do you connect with clinicians treating patients with cancer to bridge laboratory research to clinical care?
There are several ways that I have the opportunity to do this. First, I make a point to always include clinical collaborators in my research to maximize the potential impact on how we treat patients. Second, I try to involve patient advocacy groups in order to ensure that we are doing our work in a way that is most helpful to the individuals being affected by cancer. Lastly, I try to present my work at clinically oriented conferences and in clinically focused journals, so that providers and patients are more likely to benefit from the work we are doing.
Mentorship is an important part of cancer research—what is your favorite way to keep your colleagues and students engaged and learning from one another?
I believe that the best way to learn something is to do it – and this is particularly true with research. I tell my students and mentees that there are two components to being successful in your chosen line of work – you need an opportunity and then you need to capitalize on that opportunity when it is presented. This was certainly true for me in my career. As a mentor, I feel that my most important job is to try and provide opportunities for students and trainees to really get involved in the nitty gritty of research projects and perhaps even take the lead on a project or paper. Ultimately, however, success requires dedication and persistence on the part of the individual to capitalize on those opportunities and see them through to the finish.
Cancer prevention is one of the key priorities following the NCI’s 50th anniversary of the National Cancer Act. How can we prioritize cancer prevention in our daily lives?
I think that taking care of our general health and lifestyle choices is a good start. When we take care of ourselves regularly, we are more likely to undergo recommended cancer screening and more likely to notice if something isn’t right with our health and seek medical attention sooner rather than later.