With an audience of nearly 200 guests, Friend’s latest town hall at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute in Tampa delivered a successful presentation and engaging debate on cutting edge science and barriers to progress in fields such as biomarkers, genomics, and nanotechnology. The town hall gathered experts from a multitude of sectors involved with issues related to cancer research, including US Congressman Michael Bilirakis of Florida, who participated in the full panel discussion after he received a Cancer Leadership Award from Friends Chair Ellen Sigal and President Marlene Malek. The event was covered by several local media outlets, including a live appearance by Friends’ Executive Director, Alan Balch, on Tampa CBS 10. An Op-Ed addressing the fact that cancer has now become the nation's number one killer of those under 85, co-written by Dr. Sigal and Moffitt CEO Dr. William Dalton also appeared in Tampa’s major daily newspaper, the Tampa Tribune. Additionally, the Wall Street Journal featured quotes from both Dr. Sigal and Dr. Dalton regarding NIH Funding, also a major topic of the Tampa Town Hall.

Above: An audience member directs a question to the panel during the Q&A session.

Moderated by Susan Dentzer of the Newshour on PBS, the panel discussion sparked great interest from community members in the audience, who submitted dozens of questions. Highlights included a lively discussion on biomarkers, the process of carcinogenesis, budgetary constraints, and new modalities for cooperative research, proteomics, safer drug studies, and early diagnosis.

Other panelists included:

Dr. Ann Barker of the NCI discussed initiatives to share data on new international computer networks.  She pointed out that doing so would enable scientists working on similar issues to pool their knowledge, share results, and avoid duplication of effort;

Clifton Leaf of Fortune Magazine urged the audience to consider just how large a part 'chemoprevention' already plays in their lives in terms of vaccines and other agents, and how large the impact of early detection methods can be, for example the Pap smear;

Dr. Rick Pazdur, of the FDA pointed out the increasingly challenging role of his agency in meeting the often competing goals of maximizing safety while not keeping lifesaving cancer drugs off the market unnecessarily.  Pazur also discussed how new technologies might help both safety and efficiency in drug trials;

Dr. Gerry Kennealey of by Astra Zeneca addressed the primary barriers faced by the public and private sectors in moving chemoprevention forward;

Dr. Thomas Sellers of Moffitt gave a chilling description of how cancer begins a decade or more before it is detected and what opportunities are unfortunately missed due to lack of compliance with screening measures.  He also brought up how new technology for simplified and accurate detection will go a long way in addressing these issues;

Rep. Bilirakis offered  continued support for adequate funding of programs with real impact but recognized that there is a finite pool of money, and that decisions on competing programs would have to be based upon reliable scientific and effectiveness data.

The event was followed by a tour of Moffitt's cutting edge research facilities, whose activities have been funded by both public and private sources. The quality of the Center, its staff, and the event, showed how activism on behalf of critical science, partnerships and education do pay off in putting great tools and great people to work against cancer.

Above: FOCR President Marlene Malek, special guest Congressman Michael Bilirakis (R-FL, 9th) and FOCR Chair Ellen Sigal at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, FL.

MEDIA COVERAGE

Feb. 5th -- Dr. William Dalton, Director of the Moffitt Cancer Center, and Dr. Ellen Sigal, founder and chair of FOCR, publish an op-ed in the Tampa Tribune.