Three physician-scientists from the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center have been chosen as the 2014 John William Pope Clinical Fellows.
This year’s fellows are David Chism, MD, MSc; David Johnson, MD, MPH; and Christopher Tignanelli, MD. The award honors the best young physicians and scientists at UNC Lineberger who combine excellence in clinical practice as a physician and as a researcher in the laboratory.
Each fellow will receive a $5,000 award made possible by a gift from The John William Pope Foundation. The award jumpstarts the careers of the clinical fellows and enhances clinical research at UNC Lineberger.
Dr. Chism has worked since arriving at UNC in the lab of William Kim, MD, on a project that identified the intrinsic molecular subtypes of bladder cancer, revealing that the cancer had genetic similarities to the subtypes of breast cancer. The research has the potential to revolutionize the treatment of bladder cancer, a disease that has not yet benefited from the development of therapies targeting the genetic causes of the cancer.
Dr. Chism also developed a multi-center clinical trial for the metastatic urothelial cancer drug Palbociclib based on the genomic profile of the disease revealed by The Cancer Genome Atlas. The trial will determine if the drug, which targets a gene whose mutation is linked to the cancer, will be beneficial for patients with the metastatic form of the disease.
“I remain committed steadfastly to genitourinary cancer research. The wealth of knowledge and guidance provided by Drs. Matthew Milowsky and William Kim, my co-mentors, an abundance of resources supplied by UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer center, and the outstanding departmental support combined to serve as the backbone for which my clinical/translational research projects have developed and blossomed,” said Dr. Chism.
A surgical resident in urology and a public health researcher, Dr. Johnson’s population-level research into the over-diagnosis and treatment of patients with small renal masses undertaken with Matthew Nielsen, MD, showed that a significant portion of patients were undergoing unnecessary surgery, exposing the patient to significant health, financial and mental harms. Pre-publication presentations of the research have already led to significant discussion in the field.
While pursuing a Master’s in Public Health at UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, Dr. Johnson worked with health authorities in Cuba on navigating the difficult tradeoffs in running a prostate cancer screening program. As a urology resident, he is leading an effort to institute shared-decision making between patients and physicians who are deciding how to treat localized prostate cancer.
“I feel very fortunate that Lineberger emphasizes and supports the pursuit of academic interests outside of traditional sphere of clinical education. These opportunities are important and necessary to explore during training to help find our niche within our field where we can apply our interests to further improve the management of oncologic disease. Treatment decision-making in the management of urologic malignancies is an increasingly important area where process changes and a greater focus on patient-centered outcomes have the potential to lead a fundamental shift in the approach to both urologic and non-urologic diseases. This generous Pope Clinical Fellows award demonstrates our institution’s commitment to supporting clinical researchers with these goals in mind,” said Dr. Johnson.
A resident in the UNC School of Medicine’s Department of General Surgery and a Research Fellow in the lab of Jen Jen Yeh, MD, Dr. Tignanelli has spent the last three years determining why a targeted therapy currently undergoing clinical trials may not be an effective treatment for pancreatic cancer patients. Through multiple publications of his own and assistance with the research projects of other lab members, he has expanded the understanding of pancreatic cancer in ways that will influence future research into the treatment of the disease.
Dr. Tignanelli is a recipient of the prestigious American College of Surgeons Resident Research Fellowship and UNC’s Womack Surgical Society Research and Outreach Grant. He has also held several leadership roles within UNC’s resident housestaff council, organized a health fair for residents of local homeless shelters and raised money for the Malawi Surgical Initiative.
“Successful surgeon-scientists are rare. Tignanelli has spent the past two years with his head to the ground learning everything he can about molecular biology tools and techniques,” said Dr. Yeh.