March 5, 2009

LSU Health Sciences Center Receives a Prestigious Award for Cancer Research

At a national meeting this week in Bethesda, MD, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) recognized the LSU Health Sciences Cancer-New Orleans with the Harry Hynes award, which honors outstanding commitment to clinical oncology research in communities. Specifically, the award recognizes the LSU Health Sciences Center Minority Based Community Clinical Oncology Program (MB-CCOP) for its efforts after Hurricane Katrina, on behalf of patients with cancer and for its cancer prevention and control efforts. This program is funded by the NCI and the School of Medicine at LSU Health Sciences Center, and is housed at the Stanley S Scott Cancer Center. The MB-CCOP is lead by Robert Veith, MD, Director and Augusto Ochoa, MD, Associate Director. In issuing this award, the NCI is honoring the life and accomplishments of Harry Hynes, MD, an oncologist who promoted the participation of minorities and underserved populations in cancer clinical research.

This year, the NCI issued two Harry Hynes awards. On behalf of LSU Health Sciences Center, a special award received by Augusto Ochoa, MD, director of the Stanley S Scott Cancer Center, John Estrada, MD, director of education and community outreach for the Cancer Center: Alicia Connelly, MB-CCOP Coordinator; and Heidi Davis, PhD, the Cancer Center’s coordinator of grants and development. In issuing this award, Worta McCaskill-Stevens, MD PhD, the program director within the NCI Division of Cancer Prevention who manages the MB-CCOP initiative, and Lori Minasian, chief of the NCI Community Oncology And Prevention Trials Research Group, specifically acknowledged additional members of the LSUHSC MB-CCOP team, Sara Moody-Thomas, Ph.D., who co-directs community outreach efforts with Dr. Estrada, Jill Gilbert, MD, former director of the LSUHSC MB-CCOP, and Tasha Moore, former program coordinator. Another member of the team who has been crucial for the successful rebuilding and restructuring of the LSU Health Sciences Center MB-CCOP is Cindy Edwards, who coordinates clinical research associates. The other award was provided to former Ochsner oncologist, Carl Kardinal, MD (who was valuable in helping LSUHSC rebuild its program) for his many years of community service.

The Harry Hynes awards were issued at the annual Community Clinical Oncology Program (CCOP) and MB-CCOP Principal Investigator and Administrator Meeting. The CCOP/MB-CCOP network composes a major delivery system for NCI clinical trials, allowing communities across the country access to state-of-the-art cancer treatment and prevention protocols. MB-CCOPs are CCOPs that serve at least 40% minorities, women, and underserved populations. Across the country and in Puerto Rico, there are 47 CCOPs and thirteen MB-CCOPs currently funded by the NCI. Through these programs, 6,000 patients were enrolled onto cancer treatment clinical trials and 8,000 individuals onto cancer prevention and control protocols in 2008.

Since Hurricane Katrina, the MB-CCOP at LSU Health Sciences Center has become a model multicenter program by including the participation of physicians from academic medical centers, private practice, not-for-profit hospitals, and community clinics. Participating physicians and nurses enroll patients onto clinical trials that are designed by oncology groups at the national level and offered to patients through centers NCI deems qualified to conduct clinical research. By comparing different therapies, the cancer treatment clinical trials develop improved therapies. Likewise, cancer prevention and control protocols are designed to decrease cancer incidence.

Providing services throughout most of South Louisiana, the LSU Health Sciences Center MB-CCOP includes the following partner institutions: LSU Interim Hospital, Children Hospital, New Orleans, Earl K. Long Medical Center, Baton Rouge General Hospital, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, Lallie Kemp Regional Medical Center, River Region Cancer Screening and Early Detection Center, Robert Veith, MD, LLC, and Hematology Oncology Specialists. In the future, the program will be expanded to eight more locations throughout South Louisiana.

Contact Information:
Augusto C. Ochoa, MD.
Director, Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center
Phone: (504) 568-2727
aochoa@lsuhsc.edu

John Estrada, MD
Director Education and Community Outreach
Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center
Phone: (504) 858-1000

Worta McCaskill-Stevens, MD
Program Director, Community Oncology and Prevention Trial's Research Group
National Cancer Institute
Bethesda, MD
Phone: (301) 496-8541
Fax: (301) 496-8667
wm57h@nih.gov

May 1, 2008

LSUHSC AND OCHSNER JOIN FORCES IN CANCER EDUCATION, RESEARCH AND TREATMENT    

New Orleans – LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans and Ochsner Health System are joining forces to better provide for the treatment of cancer patients in greater New Orleans, now and in the future. Dr. Steve Nelson, Dean of the School of Medicine at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, has appointed Dr. John Cole as Acting Chief of the Section of Hematology/Oncology in the Department of Medicine chaired by Dr. Charles Sanders. The appointment is effective May 1, 2008. A 1981 graduate of the LSUHSC School of Medicine, Dr. Cole will also continue to serve as Section Head of Hematology/Oncology at Ochsner Medical Center.

Dr. Cole will lead the clinical component of a new joint oncology program, which will also include cancer care at the LSU Interim Hospital. Dr. Augusto Ochoa, Director of the Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, will lead the research component. 

The partnership combines LSU Health Sciences Center’s strengths in medical education and cancer research with Ochsner Health System’s strengths in clinical cancer care. It will provide advanced prevention and treatment, develop novel clinical trials and new therapies, and educate clinical oncologists for the State of Louisiana.

“LSU Health Sciences Center and Ochsner have a long tradition of collaboration,” notes Dr. Larry Hollier, Chancellor of LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans. “Building upon that tradition, the new program will not only help save Louisiana lives, but leverage scarce human and financial resources to more quickly rebuild our training programs and Louisiana’s supply of oncologists.” 

"This partnership is a model of collaboration between the private, non-profit sector and public sector and draws upon the strengths of each institution to provide the best possible care for cancer patients. In the post-Katrina environment in New Orleans, working together is a priority when it comes to providing, excellent patient care closer to home,” said Dr. John Cole. “Cancer patients in New Orleans can have cutting-edge treatments right in their own neighborhood.”

“The combination of the clinical and basic research strengths of Ochsner and LSU will provide a unique environment to move research rapidly from the laboratory into new treatments for cancer,” said Dr. Augusto Ochoa. “This is the current emphasis at the National Institutes of Health and should strengthen our ability to compete for federal research grants.”

“As we continue to rebuild our region, we’re committed to delivering the most advanced, quality health care to our patients; and we’re excited about this partnership as it puts the community and patients first,” says Warner Thomas, President and COO for Ochsner Health System. 

LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans educates the majority of Louisiana’s health care professionals. Louisiana’s academic health leader, LSUHSC comprises a School of Medicine, the state’s only School of Dentistry, Louisiana’s only public School of Public Health, and Schools of Allied Health Professions, Nursing, and Graduate Studies. LSUHSC faculty take care of patients in public and private hospitals and clinics in many Louisiana communities. In the vanguard of biosciences research in a worldwide arena, the robust research enterprise at LSUHSC generates lifesaving discoveries, highly desirable jobs and an enormous annual economic impact. LSUHSC outreach programs bring services and support to people in the region, markedly improving the quality of life.

 Ochsner Health System (www.ochsner.org) is a non-profit, academic, multi-specialty, healthcare delivery system dedicated to patient care, research and education. The system includes seven hospitals and over 35 health centers located throughout Southeast Louisiana. Ochsner employs over 600 physicians in 80 medical specialties and subspecialties and 450 clinical research trials annually. Ochsner was ranked one of the “Best Places to Work” by New Orleans CityBusiness in 2005, 2006 and 2007 and received the Consumer Choice for Healthcare in New Orleans for 12 consecutive years. Ochsner was ranked as “Best” Hospital by U.S. News and World Report in July 2007. Ochsner has over 10,000 employees system-wide.