UK HealthCare

Markey’s Vanderford to address President’s Cancer Panel

Nathan Vanderford, UK Markey Cancer Center
Markey researcher Nathan Vanderford, Ph.D., will address the President’s Cancer Panel on Sept. 13. Pete Comparoni | UK Photo

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 12, 2024) — University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center expert Nathan Vanderford, Ph.D., is contributing to a critical national discussion on sustaining and supporting the cancer workforce. 

Vanderford, an associate professor in the UK College of Medicine, will address the President’s Cancer Panel Sept. 13 in one of two public virtual meetings aimed at identifying strategies for strengthening the cancer clinical care and research workforce, a key goal of the National Cancer Plan.  

The meeting is part of a series exploring approaches to optimize and diversify the cancer clinical and research workforce through collaborations across government, academia and private sectors. Outcomes will inform the panel’s report to President Joe Biden on supporting the next generation of cancer researchers and health care professionals. 

Vanderford will address challenges faced by early-career researchers, issues of diversity in cancer research training and opportunities for supporting researchers’ career paths. Vanderford is an associate professor in the UK College of Medicine’s Department of Toxicology and Cancer Biology, director of Markey Cancer Center’s Appalachian Career Training in Oncology Program and assistant director of Markey’s Pathway Programs and Student Success.  

The meeting will be livestreamed to the public beginning at 11 a.m. ET and can be accessed here: https://nci.rev.vbrick.com/#/webcasts/presidentscancerpanel-meet2.

 

UK HealthCare is the hospitals and clinics of the University of Kentucky. But it is so much more. It is more than 10,000 dedicated health care professionals committed to providing advanced subspecialty care for the most critically injured and ill patients from the Commonwealth and beyond. It also is the home of the state’s only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, a Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit that cares for the tiniest and sickest newborns, the region’s only Level 1 trauma center and Kentucky’s top hospital ranked by U.S. News & World Report.

As an academic research institution, we are continuously pursuing the next generation of cures, treatments, protocols and policies. Our discoveries have the potential to change what’s medically possible within our lifetimes. Our educators and thought leaders are transforming the health care landscape as our six health professions colleges teach the next generation of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health care professionals, spreading the highest standards of care. UK HealthCare is the power of advanced medicine committed to creating a healthier Kentucky, now and for generations to come.