Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute’s Radiation Oncology Center Becomes First and Only Center in Arkansas to Earn APEx Accreditation

By Marty Trieschmann

Jan. 20, 2022 | The Radiation Oncology Center at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) has received the highest national accreditation from the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

The center, which is part of the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, is the only radiation oncology center in the state to be granted full accreditation by the Society’s ASTRO Accreditation Program for Excellence (APEx®). The accreditation is voluntary and granted by ASTRO for a four-year term ending in November 2025.

Accreditation was awarded after a site visit in November 2021 and a review of the center’s modalities, techniques, equipment, information and treatment planning systems for compliance with APEx safety and quality standards. APEx is the society’s highest honor, recognizing centers that meet the most rigorous standards for safety and performance.

https://news.uams.edu/2022/01/20/winthrop-p-rockefeller-cancer-institutes-radiation-oncology-center-becomes-first-and-only-center-in-arkansas-to-earn-apex-accreditation/

The Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute's nationally recognized team of radiation oncologists includes (l to r) Richard Crownover, M.D., Ph.D., Fen Xia, M.D., Ph.D., Adam Wolfe, M.D., Ph.D., Leslie Harrell, D. O. and Gary Lewis, M.D. Not pictured is Sanjay Maraboyina, M.D. Image by Bryan Clifton

UAMS’ Analiz Rodriguez, M.D., Ph.D., Selected for Diversity in Clinical Trials Career Development Program

By Yavonda Chase

The Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation (BMSF), along with its partners National Medical Fellowships and the American Association for Cancer Research, selected University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) neurosurgeon Analiz Rodriguez, M.D., Ph.D., to participate in its Diversity in Clinical Trials Career Development Program.

Rodriguez joins 51 other early-stage researchers as the first cohort of a five-year, $100 million initiative that will eventually train 250 community-oriented clinical trialists by 2027.

A board-certified neurosurgeon who is part of the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Rodriguez is also an assistant professor in the College of Medicine’s Department of Neurosurgery and director of Neurosurgical Oncology.

https://news.uams.edu/2021/11/23/uams-analiz-rodriguez-m-d-ph-d-selected-for-diversity-in-clinical-trials-career-development-program/

UAMS neurosurgeon Analiz Rodriguez, M.D., Ph.D., is one of 52 early-stage researchers invited to participate in the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation's Diversity in Clinical Trials Career Development Program.

Amy Wenger Named Vice Chancellor of UAMS Northwest Regional Campus

By Yavonda Chase

LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) has named Amy Wenger, MHSA, vice chancellor of its Northwest Regional Campus, effective Dec. 1.

She succeeds Pearl McElfish, Ph.D., who announced last year she was stepping down from the vice chancellor position to focus on her role as the director of community health and research and serve as the associate director of community outreach and engagement at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute.

Wenger has held multiple leadership roles at UAMS since 2005. She is currently vice chancellor for regional campuses and will continue to oversee that area while UAMS formulates a plan for new leadership. Prior to that, she served as the chancellor’s chief of staff, as administrator for several areas including women’s health, surgical specialties and the department of nursing and as business officer for both nursing and the Psychiatric Research Institute.

https://news.uams.edu/2021/10/20/amy-wenger-named-vice-chancellor-of-uams-northwest-regional-campus/

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) has named Amy Wenger, MHSA, vice chancellor of its Northwest Regional Campus, effective Dec. 1.

Children’s Tumor Foundation Joins with UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute to Pilot Clinic for Adults with Neurofibromatosis

By Marty Trieschmann

LITTLE ROCK—The Children’s Tumor Foundation and the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences are pleased to announce plans for the first dedicated Neurofibromatosis Adult Clinic in the region.

The Children’s Tumor Foundation is the leading non-governmental organization dedicated to funding all types of neurofibromatosis (NF) research.

This newly established clinic located on the seventh floor of the Cancer Institute will deliver multidisciplinary care to adults living with neurofibromatosis. In addition, it will build clinical data sets to provide information that could inform the expansion of adult care and recruit and mentor new clinicians into the NF clinical care community. In conjunction with a pilot launching at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) later this year, the vision is to partner with hospitals across the country to open more NF adult clinics and make outstanding medical care accessible for the complex needs of adults living with neurofibromatosis.

https://news.uams.edu/2021/10/14/childrens-tumor-foundation-joins-with-uams-winthrop-p-rockefeller-cancer-institute-to-pilot-clinic-for-adults-with-neurofibromatosis/

Erika Santos Horta, M.D., a neuro-oncologist at the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, will lead the first dedicated Neurofibromatosis Adult Clinic in the region.

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.

UAMS and Mayo Clinic Researchers Discover Key to Unlocking Molecular Cancer Therapies

By Marty Trieschmann

Researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute and the Mayo Clinic have discovered a way to supercharge molecular cancer treatments to destroy more cancer-causing proteins in cells.

The research findings of UAMS’ Hong-yu Li, Ph.D., the Helen Adams and Arkansas Research Alliance Endowed Chair in Drug Discovery and professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Chemical Biology in the UAMS College of Pharmacy, and Haojie Huang, Ph.D., the Gordon H. and Violet Partels professor of Cellular Biology at the Mayo Clinic, are featured in the August issue of Advanced Science.

Li and Huang’s research gives drug makers a new road map to enhance the molecular cancer treatment therapy by PROTAC technology, a rapidly evolving treatment that is in clinical trials. PROTACs (Proteolysis Targeting Chimeras) are genetically engineered molecular compounds that bridge cancer-causing proteins with the molecules that seek to destroy them.

https://news.uams.edu/2021/10/05/uams-and-mayo-clinic-researchers-discover-key-to-unlocking-molecular-cancer-therapies/

The research findings of UAMS’ Hong-yu Li, Ph.D., (center) Helen Adams and Arkansas Research Alliance Endowed Chair in Drug Discovery and UAMS College of Pharmacy professor and the Mayo Clinic's Haojie Huang, Ph.D., provide a roadmap for drug makers to enhance a key molecular cancer treatment.

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.

UAMS Offering Revolutionary CAR T-Cell Therapy for Myeloma Patients

By Linda Haymes

The Myeloma Center at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is offering a new cutting-edge immunotherapy treatment for myeloma patients.

UAMS is the first and only medical facility in Arkansas approved to provide cellular therapy to myeloma patients.

“This is exciting because this is the first cellular therapy product commercially available for myeloma patients,” said Myeloma Center clinical director Frits van Rhee, M.D. Ph.D.

https://news.uams.edu/2021/08/09/uams-offering-revolutionary-car-t-cell-therapy-for-myeloma-patients/

“This offers an entirely new treatment option for relapsed myeloma patients,” said Myeloma Center clinical director Frits van Rhee, M.D., Ph.D. “It is a whole new class of treatment; it’s like immunotherapy is coming of age.”

Photo provided by UAMS

UAMS Breaks Ground on New Radiation Oncology Center, Will House First Proton Center in Arkansas

By Linda Satter

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) broke ground today on an expanded Radiation Oncology Center, which will be home to Arkansas’ first Proton Center.

The Radiation Oncology Center, part of the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, already offers cutting-edge technologies to provide the latest radiation treatments. It will continue to provide those services, as well as new ones using the expanded capabilities of three new linear accelerators, as it relocates in 2023 to a new 52,249 square-foot-building facing Capitol Avenue, between Pine and Cedar streets.

The new three-story structure, located southeast of the BioVentures building, is being built primarily to accommodate a proton center — one of fewer than 40 that exist nationwide — in partnership with Arkansas Children’s, Baptist Health and Proton International.

https://news.uams.edu/2021/05/25/uams-breaks-ground-on-new-radiation-oncology-center-will-house-first-proton-center-in-arkansas/

Gov. Asa Hutchinson speaks Tuesday at the groundbreaking ceremony for the UAMS Radiation Oncology Center as UAMS Chancellor Cam Patterson, M.D., MBA, looks on. The expanded Radiation Oncology Center will house Arkansas’ first Proton Center, a partnership between UAMS, Baptist Health, Arkansas Children's and Proton International. Image by Evan Lewis

Riney Foundation Gives $1.8 Million to UAMS Myeloma Center in the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute

By Benjamin Waldrum

May 20, 2021 | LITTLE ROCK — The Paula and Rodger Riney Foundation announced a gift of $1.8 million to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Myeloma Center in the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute to fund multiple myeloma research.

“Paula and I are pleased to invest in the UAMS Myeloma Center, which has made great strides in advancing multiple myeloma research and increasing survival rates,” Rodger Riney said. “As a multiple myeloma patient, I understand the critical need to pursue new research and treatments, in hopes of ultimately finding a cure.”

Rodger Riney is the former founder and CEO of the discount brokerage firm Scottrade. He was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2015 and has since become an advocate for research and treatment of the disease, including serving on the board of directors for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.

https://news.uams.edu/2021/05/20/riney-foundation-gives-1-8-million-to-uams-myeloma-center-in-the-winthrop-p-rockefeller-cancer-institute/

The Paula and Rodger Riney Foundation's gift will support multiple myeloma research at the UAMS Myeloma Center. Image by Courtesy Paula and Rodger Riney Foundation