MIR Faculty Named to The Lancet Oncology Commission
Two Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology faculty members are part of a new and ambitious cancer commission designed to accelerate research of the disease and bring treatments to patients faster and more efficiently.
Richard L. Wahl, MD, director of MIR, and Sally Schwarz, RPh, professor of radiology, are members of The Lancet Oncology Commission. This dream team of over 50 experts representing a variety of leading U.S. cancer organizations was assembled by the authoritative medical journal, The Lancet Oncology.
The commission was officially launched November 1, 2017. Two days later, it published a report in the journal on how to accomplish its goal. Called “The Lancet Oncology Commission: Future Research Priorities in the USA,” the report identified a roadmap for nearly $2 billion in funding from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The funding, authorized by the 21st Century Cures Act signed into law December 2016, will be allocated to 13 key areas.
As members of the commission, Wahl and Schwarz contributed to the report. Wahl, an expert in nuclear radiology and nuclear medicine, is recognized for his research in using radiopharmaceuticals to diagnose and treat cancer, especially non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Schwarz, a nuclear pharmacist, is director of PET radiopharmaceutical production at MIR and is a respected authority in her field.
The new commission builds on recommendations from the Cancer Moonshot Task Force enacted under the Obama administration to achieve a decade’s worth of progress in cancer treatment in five years.
