Cancer Survivorship Research Working Group
Welcome to the UMN Cancer Survivorship Research Program. We are a National Cancer Institute (NCI) designated cancer center with a comprehensive survivorship program offering clinical care, education, and research activities. Our research program is housed in the Masonic Cancer Center’s Screening, Prevention, Etiology, and Cancer Survivorship (SPECS) Program with pediatric and adult working groups. We aim to provide cutting-edge cancer survivorship research through mentorship and grant funding as well as integration of MDs, APPs, PhD scientists with epidemiology, health disparity, and health policy research backgrounds. We are able to learn from research databases for childhood cancer survivors as well as multiple cohorts of adult survivors and offer bidirectional research infrastructure addressing research questions with the aim to improve the life experience of the cancer survivor.
“Cancer survivorship is living well with and beyond cancer” -Dr. Anne Blaes
Survivorship Research Forum
UMN hosted the first annual Survivorship Research Forum, dedicated to MD/PhD education and research in collaboration with the American Cancer Society, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and the National Cancer Institute. This was the first meeting to bring together cancer survivorship researchers with over 230 participants from across 32 states and 5 countries, a critical meeting to create new collaborations and stimulate new research ideas in cancer survivorship. Now kickstarted, this initiative will continue biannually to facilitate the cancer survivorship research agenda, provide mentorship, and foster collaborations nationally among researchers, clinicians, and community partners.
Get Involved
- Are you a cancer survivor or caregiver interested in educational opportunities and events?
- Are you looking for cancer survivorship services at MHealth Fairview? Adult Survivorship | Child Survivorship
National and International Leadership
Several of our researchers participate in cancer survivorship leadership on a national and international level which allows for building collaborations and sharing research findings both nationally and locally with members of the research community and catchment area.
- American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Cancer Survivorship Committee
- Childhood Oncology Group Late Effects Team
- BMT working groups
Cancer Survivorship Faculty
Anne Blaes , MD, MS
Director and Professor of Medicine
BJ Kennedy Chair of Oncology
Division of Hematology, Oncology and Transplantation University of Minnesota
Director Cancer Survivorship Services and Translational Research
Co-Director Screening, Prevention, Etiology and Cancer Survivorship Program
Masonic Cancer Center
Administrator Info
Name: Audra Field
Email: [email protected]
Summary
Dr. Anne Blaes is the Division Director and a Professor in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at the University of Minnesota. She is the Director of Cancer Survivorship Services and Translational Research within the Masonic Cancer Center. She is an active medical oncologist with a special interest in the late effects of cancer therapy, particularly in the area of cardio-oncology. Her research focuses on designing and implementing strategies to help prevent the long term complications of treatments in our cancer survivors, particularly in the areas of cardiovascular health. She is the Chair for the American Society of Clinical Oncology's Cancer Survivorship Committee, a member of the Executive Board for the Global Cardio-oncology Society, associate editor for JACC Cardio-oncology, section editor for Hem/Onc Today on Survivorship and an active member of the ALLIANCE for Cancer Clinical Trials.
Research Summary
Dr. Blaes has a special interest in cancer survivorship, the late effects of cancer therapy, and medical education. Her research interests, funded by a BIRCWH award, include quality of life, cardiac complications of chemotherapy, and the late effects of cancer therapy in cancer survivors, particularly breast and colorectal cancer survivors. In addition to mentoring medical students and residents on research projects, she teaches the Blood pathophysiology course and the Human Diseases IV course within the medical school. She received an Educational Excellence Award from the Department of Medicine in 2010, and has been named to Minnesota Monthly's Best Doctors for Women in 2011 and 2012.
Tara Rick, PhD, PA-C
Research Associate in Cancer Survivorship
Division of Hematology, Oncology, and Transplantation University of Minnesota
Member Screening, Prevention, Etiology and Cancer Survivorship Program
Masonic Cancer Center
Email: [email protected]
Summary
Dr. Tara Rick is a Research Associate in Cancer Survivorship at the University of Minnesota. She is a member of the Screening, Prevention, Etiology and Cancer Survivorship Program within the Masonic Cancer Center and member of the Scientific Network on Female Sexual Health and Cancer. She is a long-term Physician Assistant in Hematology/Oncology at M Health Fairview with a special focus on the effect of cancer and its treatment on the sexual health of cancer survivors and received a PhD in Radiotherapy at Erasmus University in the Netherlands. She sits on the board for the Foundation for Cancer Care in Tanzania, teaches at the University of Minnesota and Saint Catherine University, and contributes to Cure Magazine.
Research Summary
Dr. Rick has a special interest in cancer survivorship, sexual health in cancer survivors, physician assistant education and global workforce, and global oncology. She works with Dr. Anne Blaes, the Director of Cancer Survivorship Services and Translational Research and Co-Director of the Screening, Prevention, Etiology and Cancer Survivorship Program in cancer survivorship research activities, patient- and provider-facing education, and programmatic work.
Research Teams
Pediatric oncology: Lucie Turcotte, Karim Sadak
Adult oncology: Anne Blaes, Helen Parsons, Tara Rick
Gynecology oncology: Melissa Geller, Rachel Vogel
Research Impact
Director
To find out more about our program please see this paper from the Journal of Cancer Survivorship!