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Moments in Time
Employee remembrances in honor of the Center’s 50th
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Left to right: Dr. Donald Coffey, Dr. Drew Pardoll, Dr. Bert Vogelstein | |
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Dr. Drew Pardoll, Abeloff Professor of Oncology, Director, Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Director, Cancer Immunology Program
This pair of pictures was taken 35 years apart. The first was in 1980 when I was a graduate student with Bert Vogelstein and Don Coffey as my mentors. Bert was a newly minted assistant professor and I was his first student. We had just published two papers in Cell on how the nuclear matrix organizes DNA replication when Bristol-Myers, which had funded some of the research through a relationship with Dr. Owens, invited us to New York for a press conference. Fast forward 35 years when we published the first paper in New England Journal of Medicine in 2015 on the spectacular responses of MSIhi cancers to anti-PD1 in the trial that Luis Diaz and Dung Le designed. This came out of a pure brainstorming session in 2012 to help explain why one of the first colon cancer patients ever treated with anti-PD1 had a complete response but the next 15 did not. Don was so excited to see Bert and me working together again, we headed over to the Brady and decided to recreate the iconic picture. Two years after that picture, the FDA approved Keytruda for treatment of any MSIhi cancer – the first approval in history of a specific cancer treatment based on a genetic marker irrespective of origin or type of tumor.
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In 1999, Dr. Ken Kinzler (left) and Dr. Bert Vogelstein invented the first digital PCR (polymerase chain reaction) machine to quantify results of next-generation gene sequencing, revolutionizing the field. The first digital PCR at Johns Hopkins now resides at the Smithsonian Institution. | |
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50th Anniversary Podcast Series
Tune in to the podcast to hear Dr. Bill Nelson and Dr. Ted DeWeese, the interim Dean of Faculty and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine and the inaugural director of the Department of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences review the history of radiation oncology at Johns Hopkins.
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Save the Date!
Throughout our 50th anniversary year, the Kimmel Cancer Center is planning a series of special events and observances. Stay tuned to CenterWide for notifications.
Sunday, June 4, 2023: 50th Anniversary Reception at ASCO Annual Meeting 2023, June 2 – 6, Chicago, Illinois. This special celebration will honor Dr. Ross Donehower as he steps down from his distinguished tenure as Director of the Hematology & Medical Oncology Fellowship Program, and Dr. Kristen Marrone as she takes the helm in succession.
Wednesday, September 20, 2023: Commemorative Symposium celebrating 50+ years of our Center’s Bone Marrow Transplant Program.
Saturday, December 2, 2023:
- Kimmel 50th Anniversary Symposium, Owens Auditorium; Luncheon, Weinberg Auditorium. 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
- Kimmel 50th Anniversary Party, Lyric Opera House, Baltimore. 6 – 10 p.m.
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It Happened in 1973 …
- NASA launched the Mariner 10 Mercury probe spacecraft.
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The last episode of Laugh-In aired on NBC.
- The U.S. patent for the Docutel ATM was granted.
- Entertainer Pharrell Williams and actor Adrian Brody were born.
- Martial artist and actor Bruce Lee and actor Lon Chaney, Jr. died.
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Share Your Milestone Memories
Whether you are new to the Kimmel Cancer Center or have been here from the start, we’d love to hear what the 50th anniversary means to you. Send us your thoughts about achieving this golden anniversary milestone!
| The Shifties – Nurse Leaders Advancing Excellence at Kimmel | |
Rushing in response to a Code Blue alert. Calming and supporting an upset patient family. Orchestrating patient flow on inpatient floors and in outpatient clinics. Helping a physician find bed placement for her patient. Pitching in on patient care to assist staff nurses on extra-busy shifts. Facilitating transport of a patient from another facility to the Kimmel Cancer Center.
This is a mere snapshot of what a day in the life of an oncology shift coordinator – or Shifty as they are known – might look like. Meet the team of six in East Baltimore that help keep each 12-hour nursing shift at the Cancer Center running as smoothly as a well-oiled machine: Amy Fruhling, BSN, RN, OCN; George Murray, RN, CCRN, CEN; Katie Fitzpatrick, RN; Kerry Zimmerman, RN (pictured left); Nichole Vance, RN (pictured right); and Sonya Williams, RN.
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“The shift coordinators are a tight-knit group of nurse leaders that really make the wheels go around,” says Director of Oncology Nursing Yinette Almonte, MSN, RN, OCN, NEA-BC. “They touch every single patient, inpatient and outpatient. They touch every provider. They are the gatekeepers managing beds and the patient emergency whisperers.”
With a global view of what it takes to run inpatient and outpatient oncology care across the Center and responsibility for delivering excellence at every turn, the role of shift coordinator is a springboard for professional advancement in oncology nursing at Johns Hopkins, Yinette adds.
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Amy Fruhling, a Kimmel nurse for 25 years and night shift coordinator for the past 13, notes how the role has evolved over the years – in a good way, she says – with expanded responsibilities.
“We are part of the leadership team, and our opinions and decisions are respected,” Amy says. “Being a shift coordinator allows us to grow in our leadership opportunities as a few of us have advanced to being successful nurse practitioners, assistant nurse managers and nurse managers within the Center.”
People like Justin Stumpf, BSN, RN, OCN, who recently advanced to nurse manager for Weinberg 4A, and Shantel Meier, RN, now outpatient office practice manager for Weinberg and Viragh.
“When you think about the complexity of oncology patient care, you realize it is amazing what these people do,” Yinette says. “They really make the house work.”
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In Memoriam … Alan W. Partin, MD, PhD
(1961 – 2023)
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Dr. Alan W. Partin, former Director of the Brady Urological Institute and Urologist-in-Chief of Johns Hopkins Hospital, died March 28 at the age of 62 surrounded by his family.
Dr. Partin had been at Johns Hopkins for close to four decades, having earned his MD at the School of Medicine, and his PhD in pharmacology and molecular sciences. After completing residencies in surgery and urology, Dr. Partin joined The Brady as an associate professor in 1995.
His contributions to the institution and the field of urology were immeasurable and enduring. Under Dr. Partin’s leadership, The Brady doubled its research space and underwent strategic expansion with projects such as the world-renowned Greenberg Bladder Cancer Institute and the Green Spring Station Pavilion III. His research earned the British Association of Urological Surgeons’ distinguished St. Paul’s Medal and the American Urological Association’s Gold Cystoscope Award and Distinguished Service Award. He was widely known for his pioneering Partin Tables which are used for predicting prostate cancer prognosis, and other innovative tests such as the Prostate Health Index to identify and track prostate cancer, work that still informs patient care today. Dr. Partin was a devoted teacher and mentor, known to many for his deep commitment to educating the next generation of clinicians and basic scientists.
A Celebration of Life will be held in the near future to honor Dr. Partin and his incredible legacy. Details to come.
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CenterWide is produced by the Office of Public Affairs for
The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins.
Read the latest Cancer Research and News in our publication,
Promise & Progress on the Web.
Read our Blog - Cancer Matters
To submit a news item, please e-mail Amy Mone at amone1@jhmi.edu.
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