Yale Cancer Center Advocates for Research Funding on "Hill Day"

Yale Cancer Center was well represented Thursday at "Hill Day," hosted by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and the Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI) in Washington, D.C.

The annual visit to Capitol Hill and congressional representatives includes cancer center leaders, researchers, physician-scientists, and other advocates delivering a common message. This year that message was that stable, predictable funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Cancer Institute (NCI) is critical for advancing research and care at cancer centers around the country.

YCC's delegation was led by Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD, Ensign Professor of Medicine, chief of medical oncology and hematology, and chair of AACR's science policy and government affairs committee; the 2024-25 president of AACR Pat LoRusso, DO, chief and associate cancer center director of experimental therapeutics; Katerina Politi, PhD, scientific director, Center for Thoracic Cancers; Meina Wang, PhD, director for education and translational research, medical oncology and hematology

The day began with an hour's congressional briefing "Protecting a Bipartisan Legacy: Advancing Cancer Research, Saving Lives, Securing the Future" that included U.S. Rep. Deborah Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat from Florida's 23rd district. The briefing was given by an AACI-AACR panel introduced by Dr. Herbst. It included Robert Winn, MD, director of VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center and president of the Association of American Cancer Institutes; John Carpten, MD, chief scientific officer and director, City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center; Meghan Lowell, lymphoma survivor and patient advocate, Wilmot Cancer Institute; and Vanessa Brandon, colorectal cancer survivor and immunotherapy clinical trial participant, Johns Hopkins.

Connecticut's all Democrat congressional delegation includes five members of the U.S. House of Representatives--Joe Courtney, Rosa DeLauro, Jahana Hayes, Jim Himes, and John Larson--and U.S. Senators Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal.