Winn, Brawley, Mitchell, Stewart join the Cancer History Project for Black History Month panel

It is a great privilege and honor to have the opportunity to represent the National Medical Association in this tribute to Dr. Jane Cooke Wright. I first met Dr. Wright during as ASCO meeting and maintained subsequent contact.

She is affectionately known in the cancer research community as the Mother of Chemotherapy. She is not only known as the Mother of Chemotherapy, but Dr. Wright is listed in the Women Pioneers of Medical Research and among the top Medical Researchers.

As a researcher, physician, administrator, teacher, mentor, educator, her many discoveries have brought continued health into the lives of millions of people. Across the board, doctors and research scientists dedicated themselves to find cures and treatment for some of the most severe and significant diseases that have challenged mankind for many ages.

One such woman has left one such indelible mark in the world of medicine and medical disparities, not only in the fight against cancer, but, against other diseases. You have already heard and most are aware of the research accomplishments of Dr. Jane Cooke Wright, including that she is credited with developing the technique of using human tissue culture rather than laboratory mice to test the effects of potential drugs on cancer cells.

She also pioneered the use of the drug methotrexate to treat breast cancer and skin cancer. However, Dr. Wright and many of her family members were also active in the National Medical Association. It is well recognized that the National Medical Association was formed in 1895, when physicians of color could not join nor become members of the American Medical Association.

Ten years ago, on Jan. 23, 2012, the brand-new University of Kansas Clinical Research Center opened its doors. The facility at 4350 Shawnee Mission Parkway in Fairway, Kansas, looked like a building in a suburban office park, not a place where science could change lives.

But looks can be deceiving. Just a week later, on Jan. 30, 2012, a group of VIPs strolled through the laboratories dedicated exclusively to clinical-trial testing. They were invited into the spacious rooms designed for clinical-trial participants to meet with researchers. In touring the 82,400-square-foot facility, the group saw where the University of Kansas Medical Center was going to tackle solutions to some of the world’s toughest health concerns.

Utah is a veritable wellspring of genetic discoveries. Researchers at the University of Utah (U of U) can claim the discovery of 50 genes involved in inherited disease risk.

The foundation of that wellspring was a singular resource: an abundance of detailed family trees. But it took the foresight of several Utah researchers to understand the potential of this data and determine how to harness its power for genetic discovery.

This focus on a genetic approach to understanding disease came to the attention of Jon M. and Karen Huntsman. Jon Huntsman lost his mother to cancer. After his own experience with the disease, he and Karen became committed to the cancer cause. When they learned of the genetics work occurring at the U of U—in their own backyard—they felt their financial support would have the greatest impact there. In 1995, the Huntsman family made a major gift that enabled the establishment of a state-of-the-art research, education, and cancer care facility on the U of U campus, becoming critical investors in the cancer genetics work that has had a significant impact across the world. Today Huntsman Cancer Institute has grown into more than one million square feet of research and clinical space.