News and Events

 

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September 2022: Dr. Schoenbeck published a commentary in the Lancet Healthy Longevity

Dr. Kelly Schoenbeck published a commentary in the Lancet Healthy Longevity journal titled "Refining frailty in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma: adding the patient voice." .

 

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September 2022: Drs. Walter, Smith, Boscardin, and Wong published their second Lens Study paper in Journal of Geriatric Oncology.

Drs. Louise Walter, Alex Smith, John Boscardin, and Melisa Wong published their paper “Change in four measures of physical function among older adults during lung cancer treatment: A mixed methods cohort study” in Journal of Geriatric Oncology.

 

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July 2022: Drs. Finlayson and Belkora were awarded an Emerson Collective Cancer Research Award

Drs. Emily Finlayson and Jeff Belkora were awarded an Emerson Collective Cancer Research Award for their project: “PrehabPal: A digital tool to help frail elders prepare for cancer surgery.”

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July 2022 Dr. Finlayson has received a UCSF Catalyst Award

Dr. Emily Finlayson received a UCSF Catalyst Award to support her project, “PrehabPal: A digital tool to help frail elders prepare for cancer surgery.”

 

May 2022: Drs. Ragavan and Lai were awarded UCSF Older Adult Cancer Care Program Pilot Awards.

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Dr. Meera Ragavan was awarded a UCSF OACC Program Pilot Award for her project titled, “Association of Geriatric Assessment Impairments and Receipt of Financial Drug Assistance Among Older Adults with Lung Cancer Receiving Oral Targeted Therapy."

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Dr. Jennifer Lai was awarded a UCSF OACC Program Pilot Award for her project titled, “Changes in physical frailty among older adults undergoing treatment for hepatocellular Carcinoma.”

March 2022: Drs. Huang and Olin published editorial in journal of Transplantation and Cellular Therapy

Drs. Li-Wen Huang, Rebecca Olin, and Mimi Lo published their paper “Patterns and Predictors of Functional Decline after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation in Older Adults” in Transplantation and Cellular Therapy.

February 2022: Drs. Wong, Smith, Walter, and Ursem publish editorial in Journal of Geriatric Oncology

Drs. Melisa Wong, Alex Smith, Louise Walter, and Carling Ursem published their paper "You have to be sure that the patient has the full picture": Adaptation of the Best Case/Worst Case communication tool for geriatric oncology” in Journal of Geriatric Oncology.

January 2022: Drs. Wong, Smith, Walter and Ursem publish editorial in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society

Drs. Melisa Wong, Alex Smith, Louise Walter, and Carling Ursem published their paper “Changes in older adults' life space during lung cancer treatment: A mixed methods cohort study” in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

August 2021: Dr. Li-Wen Huang received the Hellman Fellows award

Dr. Li-Wen Huang was selected as a recipient of the 2021-2022 UCSF Society of Hellman Fellows award for her project titled “Understanding the Teleoncology Experience for Cognitively Impaired Cancer Patients.”

July 2021: Dr. Li-Wen Huang was awarded the NIA R03 GEMSSTAR

Dr. Li-Wen Huang was awarded an NIA R03 Grants for Early Medical/Surgical Specialists' Transition to Aging Research (GEMSSTAR) for her project titled “Cognitive trajectories and risk factors for cognitive decline in older adults with hematologic malignancies.”

April 2021: Dr. Huang, Dr. Olin and Mimi Lo publish editorial in journal of Transplantation and Cellular Therapy

Dr. Huang, Dr. Olin and pharmacist Mimi Lo published their paper “Impact of Polypharmacy Prior to Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Older Adults” in Transplantation and Cellular Therapy.

July 2020: Dr. Li-Wen Huang was awarded the Pepper Center Research Education Core Scholar Award

Dr. Li-Wen Huang was awarded the UCSF Pepper Center Research Education Core Scholar Award for her project titled "Impact of diagnosis type on cognitive trajectories of older adults with hematologic malignancies."

September 2020: Dr. Li-Wen Huang was accepted for the Clinician Specialists’ Rising Stars in Aging Research Program

Dr. Li-Wen Huang was accepted for the Clinician Specialists’ Rising Stars in Aging Research Program, which is sponsored by the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) through the American Foundation for Aging Research (AFAR) Clinician-Scientists Transdisciplinary Aging Research (Clin-STAR) Coordinating Center and the National Institute on Aging (NIA) to provide mentoring and career development resources to early career clinician investigators with a focus on aging research.

July 2020: Dr. Natalie Young was awarded a 'For the Benefit of Patients at PCMB' Award

Dr. Natalie Young was awarded a grant from the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center to improve the care of older adults with cancer at the Bakar Precision Cancer Medicine Building. Dr. Young will collaborate with Dr. Melisa Wong, Chris Pollak (Director of Operations Strategy, Cancer Services), Christa Sundberg (Nurse Manager), Son Ho (Pharmacy), and Vivian Lam (CRC) to provide geriatric assessment and recommendations starting with older adults in thoracic oncology.

December 2019: Dr. YaoYao Pollock was awarded a Prostate Cancer Pilot Research Funding Award

Dr. YaoYao Pollock was awarded a Prostate Cancer Pilot Research Funding Award for her research project entitled, "Are the Benefits of Treatment Intensification in Older Adults with Metastatic Hormone Sensitive Prostate Cancer Offset by an Impact on Functional Status and Mobility?"

October 2019: Melisa Wong discusses abstract presented at the 2019 ASCO Supportive Care in Oncology Symposium

Dr. Melisa Wong and mentors Drs. Louise Walter, Alex Smith, and  Chris Miaskowski presented an oral rapid abstract on their “Mixed methods comparison of functional decline during chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and/or targeted therapy in older adults with non-small cell lung cancer” at the 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology Supportive Care in Oncology Symposium. Dr. Wong was interviewed by Dr. William Dale of ASCO about her findings.

July 2019: Li-Wen Huang Accepted to American Society of Hematology (ASH) Class of 2019 Clinical Research Training Institute (CRTI)

Dr. Li-Wen Huang was accepted for the American Society of Hematology (ASH) class of 2019 Clinical Research Training Institute (CRTI), a prestigious year-long education and mentoring program to help refine her idea of a pilot study to better understand cognitive function in older adults undergoing allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

July 2019: Melisa Wong awarded NIA Paul B. Beeson Emerging Leaders Career Development Award in Aging 

Dr. Melisa Wong was awarded a 2019-2024 NIA Paul B. Beeson Emerging Leaders Career Development Award in Aging (K76) titled “Advancing patient-centered decision making in older adults with lung cancer: Incorporating risk of functional decline into treatment discussions.“ Mentored by Drs. Louise Walter, Alex Smith, and Gretchen Schwarze, Dr. Wong will identify risk factors for functional decline during chemotherapy and/or immunotherapy in older adults with lung cancer and adapt the Best Case/Worst Case communication tool for use during geriatric oncology treatment discussions.

May 30, 2019: Li-Wen Huang awarded 2019 Conquer Cancer Foundation YIA in Geriatric Oncology in honor of Dr. Arti Hurria. 

Dr. Li-Wen Huang was awarded the 2019 Conquer Cancer Foundation of the American Society of Clinical Oncology first Endowed Young Investigator Award in Geriatric Oncology in honor of Dr. Arti Hurria. for her project titled “Understanding the Relationship Between Frailty and Cognitive Decline After Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation in Older Adults” with her mentors Dr. Rebecca Olin and Dr. Michael Steinman.

May 22, 2019: Melisa Wong accepted to 2019-2020 Tideswell Emerging Leaders in Aging Program 

Dr. Melisa Wong was accepted to the 2019-2020 Tideswell, AGS and ADGAP Emerging Leaders in Aging Program. The program augments and leverages existing leadership skills for clinical, research, policy and educational initiatives in aging. The program consists of activities spanning one year, with the anticipation that the community of leaders will remain meaningful colleagues for each other throughout their careers.

May 9, 2019: Ashwin Kotwal awarded 2019 National Palliative Care Research Center award

Congratulations to Dr. Ashwin Kotwal for his National Palliative Care Research Center (NPCRC) grant. Dr. Kotwal was awarded the Junior Faculty Career Development Award for his "Social Health among Older Adults in the Last Years of Life" research. 

April 1, 2019: Drs. Huang, Smith, and Wong publish editorial in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society

Drs. Li-Wen Huang, Alex Smith, and Melisa Wong published an editorial in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society titled “Who Will Care for the Caregivers? Increased Needs When Caring for Frail Older Adults With Cancer.