Kimmel Cancer Center Names New President, CEO.SKCC SKCC Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center SKCC Straight Key Century Club Head's Reputation Focuses Interest on Area Research Dr. Albert B. Deisseroth recently joined the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center in La Jolla La Jolla (lə hoi`yə), on the Pacific Ocean, S Calif., an uninc. district within the confines of San Diego; founded 1869. The beautiful ocean beaches, in particular La Jolla shores and Black's Beach, and sea-washed caves attract visitors and as its president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. . Deisseroth arrived in July from the Yale University Yale University, at New Haven, Conn.; coeducational. Chartered as a collegiate school for men in 1701 largely as a result of the efforts of James Pierpont, it opened at Killingworth (now Clinton) in 1702, moved (1707) to Saybrook (now Old Saybrook), and in 1716 was School of Medicine, where he was director of the genetic therapy program, chief of the medical oncology and associate director for clinical research of the Yale Cancer Center. He also is the president of the International Society for Gene Therapy. He was formerly chairman of the Department of Hematology at the Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas, chief of hematology/oncology at UC San Francisco's VA Medical Center, and head of the experimental hematology section (pediatric pediatric /pe·di·at·ric/ (pe?de-at´rik) pertaining to the health of children. pe·di·at·ric adj. Of or relating to pediatrics. oncology branch) of the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md. "With Deisseroth's national reputation in the field of cancer research, the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center will undoubtedly raise the level of already significant research that is being done in the community," said Michael W. Murphy, president and CEO of Sharp HealthCare Sharp HealthCare is a not-for-profit integrated regional health care delivery system located in San Diego. Sharp includes four acute care hospitals, three specialty hospitals, three affiliated medical groups and a health plan. , which is affiliated with the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center. Through its affiliation with Sharp, the cancer center's clinical oncology research program provides new treatments, preventative measures and diagnostic techniques to cancer patients in the county. Sharp HealthCare's oncologists refer patients for enrollment in trials, that are testing experimental therapeutics for breast cancer, colon cancer colon cancer, cancer of any part of the colon (often called the large intestine). Colon cancer is the second most common cancer diagnosed in the United States. and prostate cancer prostate cancer, cancer originating in the prostate gland. Prostate cancer is the leading malignancy in men in the United States and is second only to lung cancer as a cause of cancer death in men. . Deisseroth said two new clinical trials are being developed. The first is a new gene therapy program for replacing proteins in the bloodstream, and the other is a vaccine that involves custom antibodies to bind with lymphoma cells by recognizing their unique markers. With these new cancer treatments under development, a treatment can be created as a "key fitting into a lock," specifically targeting a type of cancer, said Deisseroth. "Doctors can make these predictions and dramatically improve to optimize the therapies for cancer patients," Deisseroth said. "And with the science and technology, we can now create the specific structure for the best type of treatment." Deisseroth said the cancer center has developed its reputation as a leading cancer research institution, which is one of the reasons why he was attracted to San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. . The cancer center developed a strategic five-year plan Five-Year Plan, Soviet economic practice of planning to augment agricultural and industrial output by designated quotas for a limited period of usually five years. , which includes a massive fund-raising effort, building new laboratories and recruiting distinguished scientists to San Diego, according to Deisseroth. He replaces the cancer center's founding CEO, Dr. Ivor Royston, who left to assume full-time duties at Forward Ventures, a life sciences and health care venture capital fund. "The idea is to continue to build on the success of the past 10 years under Roytson's leadership," Deisseroth said. "We have the responsibility to help each other and millions of people all over the world." And Deissorth believes San Diego will be the area for the groundbreaking research. "The wonderful part of San Diego is that it has many hospitals, biotech companies, research institutions and a medical school, which make it one of most intensively developed biotech research areas in the nation," said Deisseroth. "The people in this city all band together as one giant intellect." |
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