Boston and Cambridge Innovation

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Cancer hit close to home for me again this week.  A friend of mine in Washington, DC was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer – age 44 non-smoker.  My heart is broken for him and his beautiful family.  At the same time, it reinforces my commitment to raising money for cancer research, including research that would help my friend.

It also reminds me of how fortunate I am to live in Massachusetts, and to participate in the scientific community of innovation in Boston and Cambridge.  The National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR) has supported cancer research in laboratories in Boston for many years, at Massachusetts General Hospital, Dana Farber, Beth Israel and MIT.  Greater Boston truly is one of the most important centers for innovation in the world, and I spend a lot of time here, exploring potential collaborations with leaders in the biotech, venture capital, and academic medical research communities.

Boston and Cambridge are home to so many innovative scientific organizations, too many to name.  One interesting group is LabCentral, “a 28,000 square-foot facility in the heart of the Kendall Square, Cambridge, biotech innovation hub, a first-of-its-kind shared laboratory space designed as a launchpad for high-potential life-sciences and biotech startups.”  I am also particularly impressed with people like Bob Urban at the Johnson & Johnson Innovation Center, and Dr. Laurence Cooper (pictured below) at Ziopharm Oncology. NFCR has supported Dr. Cooper’s research at MD Anderson since 2004, which helped lead to the license of his immunotherapy technology to Ziopharm.  I am grateful for playing a part in helping bring new technologies like these closer to the patient bedside.
I am excited and encouraged by the work being done in Boston and Cambridge.  Though I work in Bethesda, MD, I’ve lived in the Boston area for almost 30 years.  You will see me around town, and hear a lot more this fall about an exciting cancer research project I am working on at Massachusetts General Hospital.  This research in Boston will benefit patients around the world, including my friend in Washington, DC.



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