I’m a good example of how The Chemotherapy+ Foundation community works – find talent early and nurture it. Early in my career, the Foundation saw promise in my research and invited me to participate in a symposium. I later became a member of the Medical Advisory Council. From there, I moved up to serving on the Board of Trustees. Now I am the Chair of the Medical Advisory Council.

Collectively, we carry the legacy of our founder, Dr. Ezra Greenspan. He was a visionary in many ways. He started the oncology department at Mt. Sinai and watched many of his patients fight for their lives and lose. Ezra turned heartbreak into a mission to find more effective treatments. He created The Chemotherapy Foundation, dedicating it to cancer research before any other cancer-focused nonprofit.

His efforts and collaborations with other great doctors have paid off. Breast cancer is 60% less fatal today than when Ezra started. He set the philosophy and direction of the Foundation, and it is very much alive today. And so are many more patients.

What makes this organization special is its investment in emerging talent and how we find it. The Foundation’s Medical Advisory Council is made up of cancer oncologists, researchers, and physicians from different areas. We review research proposals from multiple angles. We all have our areas of expertise and diverse backgrounds. It is these different perspectives that help us spot and provide seed funding for researchers and studies that show early promise.

Collaboration helps move research from the lab into life-saving treatments. And it drives all that we do here. I’m looking forward to expanding our medical program to include more grants and educational opportunities for both medical professionals and individuals with no science background at all. The Foundation’s approach is unique and geared toward empowering families, friends, and colleagues with information.

When William was a young Assistant Professor at Harvard, he was invited to speak at the Chemotherapy Foundation’s Symposium. Once again, the Foundation found someone who would develop into a leading expert in cancer research. Since then, he has authored more than 325 original articles, reviews, and book chapters on topics relating to prostate, renal, bladder, and testicular cancers.

Dr. Oh is the Director of Precision Medicine, Yale Cancer Center
Division of Medical Oncology, Yale School of Medicine
The Jean and David W. Wallace Medical Director
Smilow Cancer Hospital at Greenwich Hospital