Sylvester Celebrates National Cancer Leadership at Annual Retreat
Director Stephen D. Nimer, M.D., and key Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center presenters offered a strategic vision for cancer research and care.
Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center’s team recently celebrated its national leadership in research, education, clinical care and survivorship while outlining an ambitious vision for the future. More than 400 professionals participated in this year’s annual retreat for Sylvester, part of UHealth—University of Miami Health System and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
“Our goals are to bring more cures, hope and joy to our community as we continue to advance our mission,” said Stephen D. Nimer, M.D., director of Sylvester, Oscar de la Renta Endowed Chair in Cancer Research and executive dean for research at the Miller School. “From pioneering research to patient-centered care and community engagement, each of our comprehensive cancer initiatives strengthens our foundation and brings us closer to reaching new heights in our field.”
Celebrating NCI Renewal
At the retreat, Dr. Nimer led a celebration of Sylvester’s “outstanding” renewal of its National Cancer Institute (NCI) designation, with a remarkable score of 21 – even better than the 27 score Sylvester received on its first NCI submission in 2019. (Like golf, the lower the number, the better the score.) In addition, Dr. Nimer received an “exceptional”—the highest rating for a cancer center leader.
“Our research, outstanding clinical care, survivorship and supportive services programs and our dedication to the Sylvester mission are attracting the attention of everyone in the cancer center world,” Dr. Nimer told the record number of attendees, who included community leaders and Sylvester advisors. “We are making an incredible impact, and we celebrate each other, our best team efforts, our best collaborators and our incredible promise.”
In the five years since receiving its first NCI designation, Sylvester’s key accomplishments include:
• Recruiting more than 120 new faculty members, including 28 in the past year
• Expanding the number of clinical trials and recruiting more patients
• Launching the Clinical Research Management and Support Office for multi-site clinical trials
• Publishing a record number of articles in high-impact journals
• Achieving national faculty and student recognition, including appearances on “Today” and other platforms
• Generating a 40% increase in NCI funding and an 80% increase in non-peer-reviewed funding
• Receiving a $126 million anonymous gift and increased funding from the state of Florida
• Growing the number of multi-principal investigator grants, reflecting a culture of collaboration
• Conducting vital research in women’s cancers, with international collaborators in Nigeria, Kenya and Korea
• Increasing training grants from the National Institutes of Health
• Opening a new satellite facility in Doral
• Constructing the Kenneth C. Griffin Cancer Research Building, due to open in 2025
• Creating the statewide Florida Academic Cancer Center Alliance to advance collaborative cancer research
• Strengthening academic partnerships through initiatives led by the Academic Cancer Advisory Council
• Forming an Executive Advisory Committee, including venture capitalists, biotech leaders and former pharma company executives
• Building even stronger community support from the Pap Corps, the Dolphins Cancer Challenge and other local organizations and events
“From our patient-reported outcomes and lifestyle intervention research to major advances in precision medicine and our launching of the Sylvester Brain Tumor and Myeloma Institutes, we are changing national policy for cancer patients, survivors and their families,” said Dr. Nimer.
An Inspirational Evening
On the retreat’s opening evening, Dr. Nimer compared Sylvester’s journey to superstar Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” Oct. 20 performance at Hard Rock Stadium.
“I was inspired by her show and grateful that we could host three incredible young women who were successfully treated for cancer at Sylvester,” he said. “The experience was magical and unforgettable.”
In keeping with that musical theme, Dr. Nimer and Antonio Iavarone, M.D., Sylvester’s deputy director and professor of neurological surgery, biochemistry and molecular biology at the Miller School, presented nine faculty and trainees with “Grammy Awards” for their accomplishments and unveiled a Sylvester song, “Comprehensive Like Never Before,” that captured Sylvester’s 51-year commitment to research, cancer care, health equity and teamwork.
“You are the team that made this renewal happen,” said Dr. Nimer, after thanking C. Ola Landgren, M.D., Ph.D., chief of the Myeloma Division and co-leader of the Translational and Clinical Oncology program, for chairing the Retreat Planning Committee. “You all have done incredible work in the lab, the clinics, the offices you lead and the shared resources that we have created. You are the reason we are standing here, five years later, renewed as an NCI-designated cancer center.”
Looking to the Future
Sylvester’s leaders unveiled a vision of the future and held workshops focusing on the 2024-2028 strategic plan.
“Our next step forward will be achieving NCI’s comprehensive designation, expanding and building on our successes,” said Dr. Nimer.
According to Beverly Ginsberg Cooper, managing director and cancer practice lead at the Huron consulting group, there are currently 57 NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers, and most do not achieve comprehensive status on their first application cycle. Cooper outlined key qualities that NCI reviewers prioritize in comprehensive cancer centers and the steps Sylvester will need to take to meet these standards.
Throughout the day, Sylvester’s professionals discussed the strategic plan’s eight objectives:
• Strengthen current research programs and advance collaborative science
• Strengthen clinical research
• Accelerate innovation and excellence in translational cancer research
• Expand shared resource capabilities
• Advance cancer center infrastructure
• Promote community engagement, outreach and targeted research activities
• Cultivate additional education, training and mentorship opportunities
• Integrate diversity, equity and inclusion as core Sylvester values
Cancer Retreat Highlights
A retreat breakfast focused on faculty development and mentoring, and four Sylvester researchers presented their recent work in breakout sessions. Other speakers included Craig Moskowitz, M.D., Sylvester’s physician-in-chief and professor in the Division of Hematology at the Miller School, who spoke on the site disease groups, and Frank Penedo, Ph.D., Sylvester’s associate director for cancer survivorship and translational behavioral sciences, and director of Cancer Survivorship and Supportive Care, who provided an update on population science.
Wrapping up the retreat, Dr. Nimer said, “Let’s focus on the insights we can share, the collaborations we can foster and the possibilities that lie before us. Together, we are more than ready for our comprehensive era.”
Tags: cancer research, Dr. Stephen Nimer, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center