Becker's Hospital Review

Save the date! Becker's Hospital Review Annual Meeting – May 7-9, 2015 – Chicago 116 R onald DePinho, MD, has led The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center as president since September 2011. About 120,000 patients visit the center each year, and the institution's cancer clini- cal trial program is the largest in the country. Dr. DePinho oversaw the 2012 launch of MD Anderson's Moon Shots Program, which challenges physicians and scientists to target eight types of cancer and dra- matically reduce mortality for the diseases. The program was inspired the all- out team effort it took to meet President John F. Kennedy's promise to send an American to the moon only seven years after he made it in Houston in 1961. The Moon Shots Program is meant to accelerate clinical research into cancer treat- ments for patients that extend or save lives, as MD Anderson leaders articulate clear milestones and develop operating and business plans for each moon shot. Internationally known for his basic and translational cancer research, Dr. De- Pinho's findings have helped advance cancer detection and drug development. Some of his most notable contributions relate to the link between advancing age and increasing risk of cancer. In addition to research in the lab, Dr. DePinho has written more than 250 peer-reviewed articles for scientific journals, con- tributed to more than 50 books, chapters and review articles, and has helped spur dozens of scientists' careers in basic and translational research. Dr. DePinho hails from New York City. He was born in the Bronx, attended Fordham University for his bachelor's degree and earned his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Before joining MD Anderson, he spent 14 years as founding director of the Belfer Institute for Applied Cancer Science at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and professor in the De- partment of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He also spent 10 years in faculty positions at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where he established the first National Cancer Institute-supported shared transgenic and gene tar- geting facility. Dr. DePinho and his wife, Lynda Chin, MD, a cancer physician-scientist, are the parents of three children. Here, he took the time to answer Becker's Hospital Review's seven questions. What's one thing that really piqued your interest in healthcare? During my formative years as a physician more than 30 years ago, I grew to appreciate the physical and emotional challenges patients and families expe- rience in the face of disease, particularly cancer. I wanted to help alleviate this burden, but quickly recognized it would take both improvements in cancer delivery and access as well as the application of new molecular insights and transformative technology made possible by the recombinant DNA revo- lution. I was drawn to the concept of using knowledge and technology to convert our "disease" care system to "health" care through prevention, early disease detection and genome-informed treatment. What do you enjoy most about Houston? First and foremost, it's the people. People in Houston — and frankly through- out Texas — are warm and friendly. It's very common to strike up a conversa- tion with a complete stranger at some point during your day. Houston is also the most diverse city in the nation, very socially progressive, and welcoming of the many new individuals that come to this city of opportunity. If you've got talent and something to contribute, you are embraced by its residents. It's a city with a lot going on. Great food, lots of entertainment options includ- ing a top-tier theater district. However, I think the most unique thing in the city is the Texas Medical Center, which MD Anderson is proud to be part of. The TMC in Houston is the largest medical complex in the world. There's nothing like it anywhere else. It's home to over 50 institutions including 21 hospitals. This incredible cluster of knowledge is a big part of our success in recruiting and retaining some of the finest cancer specialists and researchers in the world. If you could eliminate one of the healthcare industry's problems overnight, which would it be? Right now, our biggest concern is access. Health reform needs to ensure more people have health coverage. But that's not enough. Reform efforts also need to guarantee families can receive high-quality specialized care from those with deep expertise when they need it. As an NCI-designated institution that often cares for people fighting diffi- cult-to-treat cancers, we're concerned that many of the plans offered through state and federal exchanges do not currently allow for access to top cancer centers like MD Anderson, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and Mayo Clinic. We want to make sure patients can come to these centers when they need to. Cancer is an incredibly complex family of diseases, and sometimes people need to be treated by those with highly advanced expertise. We hope such patient- oriented adjustments can be made in the near future to remedy this issue. We also want to break down other barriers to sharing the knowledge gained in our clinics and labs. We're in the midst of developing the Oncology Expert Advisor powered by IBM Watson. The third-generation cognitive computing system is being built to analyze physician notes, medical outcomes informa- tion and medical literature. A physician can use the system to weigh the pro- file of a patient they are treating against OEA's knowledge base to determine treatment options relevant to that particular patient, based on literature, guidelines and expert recommendations. It will help physicians at MD An- derson and elsewhere in deciding the best cancer care options for patients. What do you consider your greatest talent or skill outside of the C-suite? Corner Office: Dr. Ronald DePinho of MD Anderson Cancer Center on His One and Only Mission By Molly Gamble

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