• VOLUME XXXII • NUMBER 1

UAB COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTER Director Edward E. Partridge, M. D. Deputy Director Ravi Bhatia, M. D.

FEATURES

SURVIVOR PROFILE................ 6

Jessica Sparks

CLINICAL UPDATE.............. 10

Endorsement of HPV Vaccine

RESEARCH UPDATE.............. 12

UAB Researcher Leads Innovative Work in Chile

CENTER PROFILE................... 15

Mansoor Saleh, M. D.

CLINICAL UPDATE................ 18

UAB Encourages Colorectal Cancer Screening

QUICK TAKES

2016 ARTBLINK GALA....... 20

BCRFA PRESENTS RECORD-BREAKING DONATION............................... 23

RESEARCH BRIEFS................ 24

NEWS AND EVENTS............ 26

INSIDE VIEW.......................... 28

The Artists of ArtBLINK

TO THE CENTER

There are a variety of ways to give to the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center. All donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law and may be designated for the cancer or research area of your choice. Every dollar stays here in Birmingham and is directly applied to cancer research and treatment.

Donations may be made by visiting the Cancer Center’ s Web site, uab. edu / cancer, or by calling the Office of Development and Community Relations at( 205) 934-1603.

Associate Directors Etty Benveniste, Ph. D. Smita Bhatia, M. D, M. P. H. Mary-Ann Bjornsti, Ph. D. Wendy Demark-Wahnefried, Ph. D., R. D. Harry Erba, M. D., Ph. D. Martin Heslin, M. D. Isabel Scarinci, Ph. D., M. P. H. Richard Whitley, M. D. Director Emeritus and Advisor to the Director Albert F. LoBuglio, M. D. Senior Advisors Kirby I. Bland, M. D. James Bonner, M. D. Herbert Chen, M. D. Mona Fouad, M. D., M. P. H. Associate Director for Administration Michael Bertram, Ph. D., M. B. A.

OFFICE OF DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNITY RELATIONS

Development Coordinator Courtney Armstrong Director of Communications Beena Thannickal Director of Education and Supportive Services Teri Hoenemeyer, M. S. H. A. Editor, Communications and Publications Josh Till, APR Manager, Corporate Development and Special Events Ashley Foster Senior Director of Development and Community Relations Chris Thomason, CFRE

UAB COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTER MAGAZINE Editor Josh Till, APR Medical Advisor Edward E. Partridge, M. D. Project Manager Josh Till, APR Writers Tyler Greer Beena Thannickal Josh Till, APR Art Director Erick Guillen Copy Editor Josh Till, APR Photographers Nik Layman Dustin Massey Steve Wood Printing American Printing Co.

Produced by the Office of Development and Community Relations.

IN THIS ISSUE of UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center Magazine, we take an in-depth look at UAB’ s new Phase I Clinical Trials Unit. This innovative program, led by Cancer Center senior scientist Mansoor Saleh, M. D., is dedicated to conducting all phase I clinical trials at UAB, including those considered to be first-in-human. We are extremely proud of the work being done by Dr. Saleh and his team, and our ability to house these innovative trials in one unit will have a tremendous impact on our research and patient care enterprise.

This issue also highlights various initiatives the Cancer Center has here at home and even abroad. We are taking the lead on a program encouraging all eligible UAB employees to receive colorectal cancer screenings by 2018. We also recently joined the nation’ s other leading cancer centers to endorse the HPV vaccine, which has a national impact on cervical cancer rates. This issue also features a story on our work in Chile, which is a great example of our globalization efforts in cancer research.

As always, we spotlight those individuals and organizations giving back to the Cancer Center. Our annual ArtBLINK Gala, held in February, was another tremendous success and has truly become one of Birmingham’ s premier fundraising events. We also recently received a record-breaking

For a free subscription to UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, please call( 205) 934-0321 or send an e-mail with your name and address to jtill @ uab. edu.

donation from our friends at the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama, which will help our breast cancer program continue to grow as a national leader in the research and treatment of that disease.

Our vision at the Cancer Center is to eliminate cancer as a major public health problem. I firmly believe this will happen in the first half of this century, and it will happen with the support of people like you. We are all in this fight together, and I thank you for supporting your UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Edward Partridge, M. D.

Director and Evalina B. Spencer Chair in Oncology