Cancer Luminaries Podcast Series

In the final episode of the 50th anniversary series, host Camilla Frost-Brewer interviews Alumni Star Tina Shih, PhD, Professor of Health Economics and Director of the Program in Cancer Health Economics Research at UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Shih talks about how health economics can tackle various issues across the entire cancer care continuum, from prevention to treatment to survivorship. As newer treatments are developed, health economists like Dr. Shih are analyzing the financial burden on patients and ways to make cancer care more affordable. She also reflects on taking on leadership roles at different stages of her career.

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In this special episode, Camilla Frost-Brewer held a fireside conversation with two former directors and one current director to learn what it is like to lead a National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center and how they approached the opportunities and challenges of the role. Medical oncologist Richard L. Schilsky, MD, Director from 1991 to 1999, drove initiatives to modernize and organize the Cancer Center. Cancer geneticist and cancer biologist Michelle M. Le Beau, PhD, Director from 2004 to 2021, not only helped the Cancer Center achieve Comprehensive status, but she strengthened our programs in population research, created educational programs and enriched our community outreach. Physician-scientist Kunle Odunsi, MD, PhD, Director since 2021, is leveraging resources, advanced technologies and partnerships from across the University network to take a pipeline of discoveries to the clinic where they can make an immediate impact. Together, they reflected on what is unique about the intellectual environment at the University of Chicago and predicted where cancer research is going next.

 

Host Camilla Frost-Brewer has a conversation with Alumni Star Angela Bradbury, MD, Associate Professor of  Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Abramson Cancer Center. Dr. Bradbury is a medical oncologist with specialized training in clinical cancer genetics, cancer prevention and medical ethics. Her research focuses on integrating genetic medicine into the clinic to reduce the burden of cancer and improve the health of individuals and families. In 2012, she started the Penn Telegenetics Program based on research evaluating remote phone and real-time services for cancer genetic counseling and testing. In this episode, she explains how technology has enable greater access to genetic counseling for people in the community. She also repeats the career advice that keeps her grounded, including the importance of saying “no” to avoid overextending yourself.

 

Host Camilla Frost-Brewer gets to know Alumni Star and cancer immunologist Stefani Spranger, PhD, Associate Professor of Biology at the Koch Institute for Integrative Biology at MIT. Dr. Spranger studies how the body’s immune system interacts with growing tumors to harness the immune response to fight cancer. In this episode, she recounts how a mind-blowing paper led her to a career in cancer immunology and the advantages of being an immunologist surrounded by cancer biologists and engineers. She also talks about the collaborative nature of scientific research in the United States, the joy of seeing a mentee blossom, and learning to trust that you are doing enough at home and at work.

 

Host Camilla Frost-Brewer spends time with Alumni Star and translational cancer researcher Huiping Liu, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Liu leads a cross-disciplinary team that uses advanced technologies to investigate the root causes of cancer. In this episode, she shares how a favorite teacher’s cancer diagnosis launched her personal mission to cure cancer. She also shares her tips for cultivating a lab culture that prioritizes passion, collaboration, innovation and compassion and maintaining a positive attitude through all problem-solving.

Camilla Frost-Brewer is joined by Alumni Star and visionary translational researcher, Dr. Suzanne Conzen, who discovered the role of the stress hormone receptor, glucocorticoid receptor, in driving particularly aggressive breast cancers. Dr. Conzen, who is the Chief of the Hematology and Oncology Division at UT Southwestern Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center in Dallas, reflects on her time at UChicago where her work on nuclear hormone receptors led to improvements in cancer care—especially for underserved populations disproportionately affected by triple-negative breast cancer. She describes her encounters with serendipity and the value of looking at a problem from the micro to the macro levels.

Camilla Frost-Brewer talks with star alumnus Charles Rudin, MD, PhD, deputy director of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and thoracic oncologist, about choosing a career path that allowed him to sit on the fence between science and medicine. He also reminisced about how his career has been shaped by his time at the University of Chicago, working alongside mentors who taught him to think critically and creatively. He marveled at the transformation of lung cancer into a survivable disease and predicts that cancer is something we will live with but get better at controlling.

Access the full transcript here. This transcript for Episode 3: Dr. Charles Rudin Talks about Sitting on the Fence of Science and Medicine was prepared by a transcription service and edited by an individual. This version may not be in its final form and may be updated.

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This episode features alumni star and nationally renowned cancer disparities researcher Otis W. Brawley, SB’81, MD’85, the Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Oncology and Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University. He recounts his “Forrest Gump existence,” where he was in the room when big moments happened. Dr. Brawley grew up in Detroit and completed undergraduate and medical training at the University of Chicago, where he says he met giants of cancer, Dr. John Ultmann and Dr. Harvey Golub. These early experiences with mentors set the course for Dr. Brawley’s career where he has been able to make a difference in improving outcomes for cancer patients through his research, advocacy, and mentorship of young cancer researchers from underrepresented backgrounds.

Audio editing provided by Kat Carlton, Senior Marketing and Communications Specialist at UChicago Medicine.

Access the full transcript here. This transcript for Episode 2: Dr. Otis Brawley Talks about Cancer Disparities as Barriers to Better Outcomes for All was prepared by a transcription service and edited by an individual. This version may not be in its final form and may be updated.

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The debut episode of the Cancer Luminaries podcast features alumni star Todd Golub, MD, founding faculty member and now director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Dr. Golub is a world leader in applying genomic tools to cancer research, having made important discoveries in the molecular basis of childhood leukemia. He talks about the emotionally intense moments of his training that inspired him to become a cancer researcher and the lessons he took from working with legendary minds at UChicago. Throughout his career, Dr. Golub has fostered interdisciplinary research that has led to truly powerful collaborations. He also encourages scientists to push the biggest, boldest, riskiest ideas forward to make a truly important contribution to the field.

Access the full transcript here. This transcript for Episode 1: Dr. Todd Golub Talks about Maximizing Your Impact on the World through Bold Science was prepared by a transcription service and edited by an individual. This version may not be in its final form and may be updated.

Audio editing provided by Kat Carlton, Senior Marketing and Communications Specialist at UChicago Medicine.

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