Clinical cancer research: a fascinating field

Abstract

Jame Abraham speaks to Joanna Milburn, Commissioning Editor: Dr Jame Abraham is the first Bonnie Wells Wilson and Distinguished Professor and Eminent Scholar in Breast Cancer Research at West Virginia University. He did his Fellowship in Hematology/Oncology at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and National Heart Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. He did his residency at the School of Medicine, University of Connecticut (CT, USA) and medical degree from Calicut Medical College in India. He is a member of the Breast Cancer Working Group of the National Surgical and Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) and has served on the board of Directors for the South Atlantic Division of the American Cancer Society. He is the principal investigator of more than 15 clinical trials at the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center. His translational research is focused on understanding the pathophysiology of chemotherapy-induced cognitive dysfunction. His research group has made notable contributions in preclinical and clinical settings, as well as the genomic understanding of ‘chemo brain’. He was the Institutional principal investigator for the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (2003–2012) and NSABP clinical trials at West Virginia University (WV, USA). Jame is the founding editor of Bethesda Handbook of Clinical Oncology. Jame is the chief editor of the Emerging Cancer Therapeutics series published by Demos Publishing, New York (NY, USA). He is also the editor of Community Oncology Journal, Elsevier (NY, USA). He is on the Editorial Boards of several journals, including Community Oncology, Supportive Cancer Therapy, Oncology and Biotechnology News and Expert Review of Anticancer Therapy. Jame has received several awards, including an award from the President of India (Vaidya Bhooshan, 2010), Dean’s Award for Excellence in Clinical Medicine (2010), Outstanding Faculty Award (2007) and Clinician of the Year Award (2006) by the Department of Medicine, Idea Award and Career Development Award from the Department of Defense (2002), and Merit Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (2001).