New Director Of Moores Cancer Center Has Deep Research Roots. ‘She Brings A Wealth Of Expertise And Vision

A physician-scientist with extensive experience in pancreatic cancer treatment and research will be the next director of the UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center.

University Health System recently Dr.

UC San Diego CEO Dr. Joseph Califano After stepping down in mid-2023, the search is on for a new director of oncology, saying they plan to return to head and neck cancer research and treatment. In June, media coverage in a prominent industry publication linked the trip to internal "chaos," particularly in Moore's clinical trials office, where he said coverage was so lax it could jeopardize patient safety.

The university has denied these claims, admitting that some changes are necessary and are underway, especially with more than 200 clinical trials in the region called the National Cancer Institute.

Simone's announcement released by UCSD last week highlights his leadership qualities and praises his involvement in research that has produced "more than 230 studies in peer-reviewed journals." These dedicated partners include the leadership of Perlmutter's Pancreatic Cancer Research Centers. She was also Chair of the Scientific and Medical Advisory Board of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and Principal Investigator for Precision Promise, a pancreatic cancer clinical trial consortium.

The quick election of a new director is important because we need to start restoring a critical funding source. In the year In 2025, the cancer center must request a renewal of support from the National Cancer Institute. Federal documents show the grant awarded the center $77.9 million over the past five years, and the renewal process is widely described as a rigorous review of the center's grant and research efforts over the past five years. . The trial was scheduled to start in 2024, but the NCI has granted more time.

Applications are evaluated not only by federal employees, but also by colleagues working in other designated centers.

Simone has more than a passing knowledge of the peer review process. Currently, he works in the research department of the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Center, evaluating various grant applications. The physician serves as the principal investigator for the UCSD application, although review regulations require that he or she refrain from reviewing the grant application.

"Dr. Simone has led a transformation in cancer care, driving a continuous shift between new research and new therapies to detect and treat cancer," said UCSD Vice Chancellor for Cancer Sciences Dr. John Correiters. Her experience and vision in her new role as director and we are honored to have her join us.

A physician and surgeon, he received his medical degree from Duke University in 1988 and completed his surgical residency at the University of Michigan in 1995 with a certificate in general surgery in 1996. He is now a professor of surgery at the Grossman School of New York. York University. Medicine.

Reached by phone Wednesday, Simone said she and her husband, Dr. Theodore Welling, a liver, pancreatic and bile duct cancer surgeon, will both join UCSD's health faculty after moving west. The couple has two grown children.

The following is a brief Q&A with the new director of the Morse Cancer Center.

Question: Pancreatic cancer is one of the most serious diseases. How did you decide this would be your major?
A: I think it came when I was a resident and I realized that it was a disease that most people didn't work on and it was always fatal. From a surgical standpoint, we had nothing to offer. It was an unmet need when I graduated. It's taken a while, but now there are significant changes in the field, and I think we're really on the cusp of improving our chances of survival. Based on some pretty significant advances in drug development and early detection technologies, I think the next five years are going to be interesting.

Q: What impressed you about the Moores Cancer Center opportunity?
A : I have attended UCSD and some nearby institutions, including the Salk Institute and Sanford Burnham, and academic conferences in the San Diego area. I've always been fascinated by the depth and breadth of science, especially biotechnology, and the collaborative nature of how people work together. If you look at the country, it's a very unique environment where all the things you want to see and touch the lives of patients. When I got to know the very dedicated faculty and great leadership at UCSD, it seemed like a perfect fit.

Q: What do you think of the recent media coverage that indicates that Moores needs a big change, especially in the area of ​​clinical trials?
A: I know there have been significant investments and a clear commitment from management to improve clinical trials. This is a topic of interest for many cancer centers because sometimes the relationship with big science can be harmful to patients to transfer it to the clinical area. Throughout my career, I've really tried to accelerate interdisciplinary research, and I think UCSD is in a unique position to use science for early detection tools, cancer prevention technologies, and new treatments in ways that many oncologists don't understand. Centers.

Q: How does the new director think an organization like Moores will compare to others?
A: I am part of a committee that covers comprehensive cancer centers across the country, so I have a great understanding of best practices. I think UCSD is in a very, very good place. One of the things that surprised me when I came to meet so many faculty and students at UCSD was how much they love this place. I think my job is to bring all of this together and reduce the activation energy, if you will, to translate the science into new clinical trials and clinical approaches.

Q : That's an interesting term, "activation energy." What do you think it will take to move from basic research to preclinical and clinical research, which many call the "valley of death" because of cost? And the rates of failure when ideas meet with patients?
A: When I arrived at NYU, our pancreatic cancer clinical trial efforts were very weak, and within three years we had enrolled a quarter of our patients in clinical trials. We need to know and make sure everyone knows its importance. We need to provide metrics for the goals we hope to achieve, and we need to collaborate across the site and in the community, including our partners in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors. I see it as my job to understand what is preventing this. The talent is already there, it's just a matter of making the whole greater than its parts.

Q: Checkpoint inhibitors, which have made certain cancers like melanoma easier to treat than before, are good examples of transformative treatments that clinical trial participants received long before they became routine. What other promising developments do you see on the horizon today?
A : As you said, advances in immunotherapy have been very effective in certain diseases and in certain patient groups and have cured patients with advanced disease, which is truly amazing. We are still trying to figure out which treatments work for which patients and why, and there are still many exciting developments in the field of immunotherapy, including cancer vaccines. I think we'll see early results in the use of artificial intelligence in blood tests and areas like breast and lung imaging. CRISPR (the technology that made gene editing so easy) is producing exciting results in congenital diseases like sickle cell anemia, and some of these will no doubt progress to cancer.

Q: What do you wish every cancer patient knew?
A: I want every cancer patient to know that they have options. Before you make a quick decision about what to do, you should know where the specialists are and look for them, because how to start treatment will be very important for the decisions you make later.

Q: Did you take a moment to get a second opinion?
A: Yes. In fact, the video is real and written for various non-profit organizations, all of which are based on pancreatic cancer and the importance of getting a second opinion and is far from being ignored by them.

Q: How did you figure out what needed to change on Murs?
A: I think we should talk to people around us. What do we really do well? What can be improved? Not enough things? Are there things that make your life easier? I always want to know what works and what doesn't.

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