Director’s Message | Summer 2024 Summary

In this issue of Synthesis, we have some great news to share, including our latest successes, our newest projects, and updates on our most promising scientific discoveries.

“Caring” and “curing” are at the heart of our work. Many talented researchers at the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center work closely with our oncologists to accelerate the translation of new laboratory advances into clinical trials and to the patient’s bedside. As you will see, our team is making extraordinary progress. Yet while our efforts to improve outcomes for cancer patients are clearly paying off, too many of us are still losing friends and family to advanced cancer. Our hard work continues, as the pages of Synthesis show.

To begin, we are proud to showcase the remarkable progress made in treating two challenging cancers: liver and pancreatic cancer. Discover in this issue how one female scientist is leading the way in many advances while simultaneously mentoring other female scientists.

Learn why our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is expanding as we continue to build our strengths in laboratory sciences to help address health disparities in the region. You’ll meet one of our surgical oncologists, a former farmhand who lived in an area with higher-than-average cancer rates. This “lived experience” inspired him to pursue a career in high-impact cancer treatment and research.

Did you know that rates of lung, liver, stomach and cervical cancer are higher in poor areas? Find out why in our new report. What people eat, or have access to, can affect their risk of cancer. That’s why we have a new project called Cancer-Fighting Foods that we want to tell you about.

Access to genetic testing for all, regardless of financial resources, is essential to harnessing the benefits of targeted cancer therapy based on molecular profiling of tumors. We are proud to have played a role in the enactment of the California Biomarker Testing Act, which will go into effect this summer. An article highlighting this success appears in this issue.

We always like to highlight in this magazine the people who help us in our mission. There’s no reason why you can’t have fun, and even “compete,” while raising money for cancer research. Check out the Sunday on the Green fundraiser, organized by a grateful patient and his wife. We also feature the wife of a U.S. Marine who tells us how his sense of duty inspired him to give back after he received treatment for cancer that, after a courageous fight, ultimately took his life. But he lives on thanks to his generous and lasting donation.

Cancer is a daunting disease, but the incredible team we have assembled is up to the challenge. Thank you for your continued and future support of the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Primo “Lucky” Lara Jr. MD
Director of the University of California, Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center