UAMS Cancer Researcher Brian Koss, Ph.D., Is First in State to Earn Prestigious NIH Director’s Award

By Yavonda Chase

LITTLE ROCK — Brian Koss, Ph.D., a researcher with the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, is the state’s first recipient of the prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s Early Independence Award.

Part of the High-Risk, High-Reward Research program, the Early Independence Award supports outstanding junior scientists with the intellect, scientific creativity, drive and maturity to bypass the traditional postdoctoral training period to launch independent research careers.

Koss joins an elite group of only 13 2021 NIH Director’s Early Independence Award recipients in the U.S. from such institutions as Stanford, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Mount Sinai, Vanderbilt and Columbia. He will receive a five-year, nearly $1.9 million grant to fund his highly specialized cancer research at UAMS.

https://news.uams.edu/2021/10/11/uams-cancer-researcher-brian-koss-ph-d-is-first-in-state-to-earn-prestigious-nih-directors-award/

Brian Koss, Ph.D., a researcher with the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, is the state’s first recipient of the prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s Early Independence Award.

New UAMS Baptist Health Cancer Center Opens in North Little Rock

By Marty Trieschmann

Aug. 30, 2021 | LITTLE ROCK — The first UAMS Baptist Health Cancer Center is now open on the campus of Baptist Health Medical Center in North Little Rock, bringing the full spectrum of cancer research, diagnostic and treatment services available at UAMS’ Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute to more Arkansans.

“This collaboration benefits the people of Arkansas by bringing the most advanced cancer care in the state closer to where people live,” said Cam Patterson, M.D., MBA, UAMS chancellor and CEO of UAMS Health. “Building on our longstanding relationship, UAMS and Baptist Health are taking steps to expand the innovative and unique oncological care found at UAMS’ Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute into all corners of the state.”

“The opening of UAMS Baptist Health Cancer Center on our Baptist Health Medical Center North Little Rock campus is just the beginning of our cancer partnership and another example of our shared commitment to bring the best health care to the people of Arkansas,” said Troy Wells, president and CEO of Baptist Health. “Uniting together against cancer, this partnership will leverage our network of 11 hospitals and 100 clinics to bridge the gaps in state-of-the-art cancer care where patients need these services most across the state.”

https://news.uams.edu/2021/08/30/new-uams-baptist-health-cancer-center-opens-in-north-little-rock/

(l to r) UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute Director Michael Birrer, M.D., Ph.D., North Little Rock Mayor Terry Hartwick, Baptist Health CEO Troy Wells and UAMS Senior Vice Chancellor and Medical Center CEO Steppe Mette, M.D., in front of the new UAMS Baptist Health Cancer Center in North Little Rock.