Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD

Racial and ethnic inequities are pervasive in clinical research—from the systemic factors that deter underrepresented populations from pursuing careers in science and medicine, to the discrimination, lack of support, and other hardships faced by those who do enter the biomedical profession.

When the Lung-MAP trial was launched in June 2014, the goal was simple: Make drug development faster and more collaborative—and do it for lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer death in the United States.This is a formidable challenge. Cancer trials were, and remain, notoriously time-consuming to launch, expensive to run, and difficult to enroll patients to. A deeper understanding of cancer biology and the genomics revolution in medicine have changed how we approach clinical research.When the Lung-MAP trial was launched in June 2014, the goal was simple: Make drug development faster and more collaborative—and do it for lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer death in the United States.

I was heartbroken to learn of the passing of my mentor, colleague, and friend, Waun Ki Hong. Dr. Hong was the quintessential physician scientist who specialized in all aspects of medicine, but most notably patient care, research, and education. This is a devastating loss for the entire oncology community, and especially for all of the patients he cared for and helped.

When the Lung Master Protocol clinical trial (Lung-MAP or S1400) (1) was launched in June 2014, the goal of this first-of-its kind trial was simple: find effective treatments for seriously ill patients suffering from a specific type of lung cancer.