Committed to Excellence in Cancer Research, Education and Patient Care
Inroads
April 2023
Tulane Cancer Center's 30th Anniversary:
New Partnerships, New Leadership & New Possibilities
Tulane Cancer Center is the University's nucleus for supporting both cancer-focused basic research and academic patient care and has been since its founding.

Where We Started &
How We Fulfill Our Mission

We started in 1993 as a matrix center with about 20 affiliated cancer-focused faculty whose primary appointments were in departments within the School of Medicine and across the University.

Through the years since, we invested and leveraged our assets – including $57 million in state tobacco tax funding we received through our partnership in the Louisiana Cancer Research Center – into growing and enhancing our translational research and patient care programs.

  • We worked with department heads in Medicine, Biochemistry, Structural & Cellular Biology, Pathology, Surgery, and Environmental Health Sciences, among others, to bolster recruitment packages – via approximately $9.3 million in startup funds and research space – in an effort to attract and retain brilliant new cancer-focused faculty to our programs. Over the past five years in particular, 35 new cancer-focused faculty recruits have more than doubled our National Cancer Institute grant funding base.
  • We provided approximately $6.3 million in research support to many of our cancer faculty in the form of bridge funds, seed funds, and incentive grants to help make their grant applications more competitive and in emergency relief grants to help them re-start their labs in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
  • We purchased state-of-the-art shared equipment and outfitted core facilities to give our scientists the ability to generate critical data here in our labs.
  • We outfitted and support wet bench research space for cancer investigators in the School of Medicine, the J. Bennett Johnston Building, and the Louisiana Cancer Research Center, a state-of-the-art cancer research facility constructed by the state in 2012.
  • We underwrote cancer education and early career development opportunities in the form of matching funds, travel grants, internships, mentorship and more for high school students, undergrads, graduate students, postdoctoral trainees, and young scientists interested in pursuing cancer research careers.
  • We supported scientific seminars, journal clubs, programmatic meetings, retreats, grant writing workshops and other events meant to help our cancer research scientists network, collaborate and succeed.

Tulane Cancer Center also financially and administratively oversees a dedicated Office of Clinical Research (OCR), focused exclusively on assisting our clinician scientists in developing and implementing a variety of trials for the improved treatment or prevention of several different types of cancer. Our patients continue to benefit from the cutting-edge investigational treatment options available to them through our dedicated cancer clinical trials unit.

Where We Are Today

All of these efforts combined have led to great progress in the 30 years since our founding.

  • Today, our matrix center counts 137 cancer-focused research and clinical faculty, whose primary appointments are in basic and clinical sciences departments across the School of Medicine and the university.
  • We've developed several of our research and clinical care programs – including prostate cancer, genetic instability, health disparities, circadian rhythm disruption, viruses and cancer and cancer drug discovery – to levels of national and international prominence.
  • Our currently funded programmatic investigators have been awarded approximately $20 million per year in cancer-relevant federal and other research grants.

We are extremely proud not only of the focused, mission-driven planning, philanthropy and community support that have been the catalysts for our progress over the past 30 years, but also of our ongoing role in bolstering and strengthening Tulane University's cancer enterprise, and we're extremely excited about what comes next.

Looking Forward - New Partnerships, New Leadership, New Possibilities

Following the recent announcement of Tulane's new partnership with LCMC Health, Tulane Cancer Center has been proactive in positioning an experienced and eager leadership team.

In her new role as Tulane Cancer Center's Interim Medical Director, Jessica Shank, MD, assistant professor and section chief of gynecologic oncology, has been meeting and working with colleagues at East Jefferson General Hospital and University Medical Center to plan and strategize synergies for a seamless integration of our clinical cancer programs.

Welcome Stefan Grant, MD, JD, MBA

We recently welcomed Stefan Grant, MD, JD, MBA, as the new Deputy Director of both the Tulane Cancer Center and the Louisiana Cancer Research Center. Dr. Grant also serves as Chief of the Section of Hematology and Medical Oncology in the John W. Deming Department of Medicine at Tulane.

Dr. Grant is a thoracic medical oncologist who comes to Tulane from Wake Forest University School of Medicine, where he was Professor of Medicine within their Section of Hematology and Oncology. He also served as Associate Director for Clinical Trial Operations at Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Welcome Back William "Rusty" Robinson, MD

I'm excited to announce that we also recently appointed William "Rusty" Robinson, MD, as Tulane Cancer Center's new Associate Director for Clinical Research. Dr. Robinson – who was section chief of gynecologic oncology and head of Tulane Cancer Center's OCR from 2011 to 2020 – has returned to Tulane to take on this new role, following his tenure as head of the clinical trials program at the University of Mississippi Medical Center Cancer Center and Research Institute.

Looking to the Future

As this next chapter in Tulane Cancer Center's history unfolds, my team and I are energized and optimistic. We have come far and are proud to have been the conduit for incredible progress in cancer research, education and patient care at Tulane since 1993. Now, with new partnerships and new leadership in place, we look forward to new possibilities as we continue to strive together to reduce the burden of cancer in our region.

I look forward to continuing to update you on our progress.

Prescott Deininger, PhD
Director, Tulane Cancer Center
Associate Director of Basic Research, Louisiana Cancer Research Center

(Photograph by Zack Smith Photography)
Stefan Grant, MD, JD, MBA
Deputy Director of the
Tulane Cancer Center and the Louisiana Cancer Research Center
Stefan C. Grant, MD, JD, MBA, will serve as Deputy Director of both the Tulane Cancer Center and the Louisiana Cancer Research Center, as well as Chief of the Section of Hematology and Medical Oncology in the John W. Deming Department of Medicine at Tulane.
William "Rusty" Robinson, MD
Associate Director for Clinical Research, Tulane Cancer Center
William "Rusty" Robinson, MD, is Tulane Cancer Center's newly appointed Associate Director for Clinical Research. Dr. Robinson served as section chief of gynecologic oncology at Tulane School of Medicine and head of Tulane Cancer Center's Office of Clinical Research from 2011 to 2020.
First Lady of the United States visits
Louisiana Cancer Research Center
Erik Flemington, PhD, Zimmerman Endowed Professor of Cancer Research at Tulane, talks about his cancer research with First Lady Jill Biden, Senator Bill Cassidy, and Congressman Troy Carter. (Story by Carolyn Scofield; photo by Frank Aymami Photography)
With a message of unity and hope, First Lady of the United States Jill Biden, EdD, and U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, MD, toured the Louisiana Cancer Research Center (LCRC) recently. Their visit underscored President Joe Biden’s Cancer Moonshot – a mission to cut the death rate from cancer by 50% over the next 25 years.

“We see the power of that collaboration here, where LSU, Tulane, Xavier University, and Ochsner are working together under one roof and in communities throughout the state,” said Biden. “The breakthroughs and discoveries that you make here, every cancer-causing virus we learn how to defeat, every clinical trial that ends in success, become the miracles that our families are praying for.”

Louisiana has one of the highest rates of cancer mortality in the United States. LCRC clusters the area’s leading cancer research institutions into one high-profile hub to share resources, attract bigger and more prestigious national grant awards, encourage inter-institutional research, and, ultimately, earn a coveted federal National Cancer Institute cancer center designation.

“This is a great opportunity for the LCRC to get the attention of state and national leadership,” said Hua Lu, MB, PhD, Professor and Reynolds and Ryan Families Chair in Translational Cancer at Tulane University School of Medicine. “Louisiana is disproportionately impacted by cancer, but we are underfunded. This visit gives us great energy to continue moving forward.”

Friday’s tour brought Biden and Cassidy to the lab of Erik Flemington, PhD, Zimmerman Endowed Professor of Cancer Research at Tulane. The lab studies the Epstein Barr virus, which causes some types of lymphomas and stomach cancers, and which is a key etiological agent of multiple sclerosis. The lab is working to identify vulnerabilities in viral pathways that can be utilized in therapeutic development.

"It was an honor for us to represent Tulane University and the Louisiana Cancer Research Center in our visit with the First Lady and Senator Cassidy, who are such strong proponents of cancer research,” said Flemington.

The President’s budget for FY 2024 invests more money in the Cancer Moonshot, including nearly $8 billion for the National Cancer Institute and National Institutes of Health. The Cancer Moonshot is the mission of their lives, the First Lady told the LCRC crowd Friday. Like so many other American families, the Bidens have been affected by cancer.

“It is exciting to have Dr. Biden spotlight the LCRC's role in the national efforts to combat cancer and through her visit to reinforce local support for the LCRC mission to overcome cancer-related issues in our state,” said Victoria Belancio, PhD, Associate Professor of Structural & Cellular Biology at Tulane University School of Medicine, and Associate Director for Cancer Education at Tulane Cancer Center. “She is a genuine person facing the same health issues that many of our residents do.”

"This visit helps to shine a spotlight on the LCRC's moonshot mission to ease the burden of cancer in our state and beyond by creating synergies among its partner institutions," said Prescott Deininger, PhD, Tulane Cancer Center Director. "We truly can accomplish more together, and that is our constant goal."
Study: More Paid Sick Leave Results in
More Cancer Screenings
During a 7-year period studied, breast cancer screening rates increased up to 4% and colorectal cancer screenings increased between 6-8% in areas exposed to policy-driven paid sick leave mandates. (Story by Andrew Yawn; photo by iStock)
For most Americans, the two major obstacles to proper medical care are time and money. And while insurance can sometimes reduce healthcare costs, having time to visit the doctor is just as important.

Now, a new Tulane University study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has found that more people get screened for cancer when employers are mandated to provide paid sick leave. During a 7-year period covered by the study, breast cancer screening rates increased up to 4% and colorectal cancer screenings increased between 6-8% in areas exposed to policy-driven paid sick leave mandates.
 
“These non-monetary barriers to healthcare access matter,” said Kevin Callison, lead author and assistant professor of health policy and management at Tulane’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and The Murphy Institute. “Improving or reducing these barriers can have meaningful impacts on people’s health.”

The U.S. is the only wealthy nation in the world to not federally mandate paid time off for being sick, according to the Center for Economic Policy and Research. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 1 in 4 American workers can’t take a single paid sick day.

The study, which was co-authored by researchers from Georgia State University and the University of California San Francisco, examined changes in breast cancer and colorectal cancer screening rates among 2 million private sector employees from 2012-2019, a time in which several states and cities adopted policies mandating paid sick leave. The workers were spread among 300 metropolitan statistical areas, 61 of which were exposed to a paid sick leave mandate during that timeframe.

Though the increases in screening rates may seem small, these results include workers who already had paid sick leave, meaning they were unlikely to decrease or increase cancer screening habits. If the results were scaled to focus only on workers gaining sick leave for the first time via mandates, Callison estimated that breast cancers screening rates increase 9-12% and colorectal screening rates increase 21-29%.

“Our effects become much larger if we're willing to assume that only the workers who are gaining paid sick leave coverage are the ones who are changing their screening behaviors,” Callison said.

Past studies have examined the relationship between sick days and cancer screening rates by comparing rates among those with leave to those without. But some workers are more health-conscious than others and may exclusively seek jobs that offer paid sick leave. By focusing on the change in screening rates brought by policy-driven mandates, this study removed some of the potential behavior-based biases.

“Because we focused on these policies that drive changes in coverage rather than people self-selecting into coverage, our argument is that we have a more accurate estimate of the relationship between paid sick leave and cancer screening,” Callison said.

The results underscore the value of sick days. Callison said it’s “reasonable to assume that more cancer screenings lead to earlier detection and better outcomes,” but more research is needed to determine if paid sick leave means cancers are caught earlier and if mortality rates decline.

To Callison, these results also represent one potential way of increasing healthcare equity in the United States.

The majority of those without paid sick leave are people of color and those with less wealth and less education. And though 17 states and 18 cities have adopted paid sick leave, 18 states have passed laws prohibiting cities from passing similar mandates.

“We know that racial and ethnic minorities tend to have higher mortality rates for certain cancers,” Callison said. “So are things like this going to improve those gaps? That’s really the next step where we want to go.”
Pink Bra Run 2023 - A Walk / Run / Bike Ride & Festival Benefiting Breast Cancer Research
Men, women, children, and even pets join in on the fun at Krewe de Pink's Annual Pink Bra 5K Walk/Run & Bike Ride, benefiting Tulane Cancer Center's Breast Cancer Research Fund.
Krewe de Pink's Annual Pink Bra Run, benefiting Tulane Cancer Center's Breast Cancer Research Fund, takes place Saturday, May 6.

The 5K walk/run takes place atop the Mississippi River levee in Gretna and offers participants some of the most picturesque views of the New Orleans skyline in the area.

And new this year.....Bike riders will be able to join in on the fun!

So mark your calendars, grab your running / riding gear, or show up in costume. Pink bras are highly recommended – the more bedazzled, the better!

For more information on the event, check out the below or visit https://www.krewedepink.org/pink-bra-run.


2023 PINK BRA WALK / RUN / BIKE RIDE & FESTIVAL

DATE: Saturday, May 6

BIB PICK-UP / REGISTRATION:

RUNNERS/WALKERS - Same day registration and bib-pickup will be outside the River Shack, 714 1st St., Gretna, 7:00 -7:30am. Race start time is 8:00 AM.

BIKE RIDERS - Check-in and same-day registration begins at the Algiers Ferry Terminal in Algiers Point at 7:00 AM. Ride starts promptly at 7:30 AM

ROUTES:

WALK/RUN - starts and ends at the Gretna Ferry Landing, near the River Shack

BIKE RIDE - starts at the Algiers Ferry Terminal, continues for nine miles through Federal City and Algiers Point, and ends at the Gretna Ferry Landing, where bikers will join the runners and walkers for the post-race festival, near the River Shack.

ENTRY FEES:

ADULTS
$35 through May 5th at noon
$40 on Race Day

YOUTH (13 years of age and younger)
$20 through May 5th at noon
$25 on Race Day

FAMILY (2 Adults and 2 Youths)
$100 through May 5 at noon
$125 on Race Day

T-SHIRTS:
A limited number of t-Shirts will be sold on Race Day.

WINNERS:

1st, 2nd, and 3rd placement medals for both males and females
1st-place youth male and female placement medals (13 years and younger)

POST-RACE FESTIVAL:

  • Traditional red beans & rice, jambalaya, beer and refreshments
  • Awards
  • Best decorated bra contest
  • Music and dancing in the street

PARKING:
Free parking is provided in the parking lot on the corner of Huey P. Long and 2nd Street in Gretna.

TO REGISTER:
Visit Eventbrite by clicking here.

ORGANIZER:
Krewe de Pink is a 501(c3) organization made up solely of volunteers whose mission is to raise money and awareness for breast cancer research and prevention. Each year Krewe de Pink hosts unique, New Orleans-style fundraising events, including the Pink Bra Run, Krewe de Pink Prom, and Death by Chocolate NOT Breast Cancer. Dollars raised by the organization – approximately $197,500 to date – benefit Tulane Cancer Center's Breast Cancer Research Fund.

QUESTIONS: