June 2016 Newsletter – Issue 4

In this issue
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Updates:

• GO Appoints Our 1st Executive Director
• GO Benefit Concert: October 1, 2016
• Symposium on Global Cancer Research – Recap
• GO’s Belarus Palliative Care Team Provides Onsite Training
• Job Openings at Metrics for Management

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GO Appoints Our First Executive Director: Donna Barry

Over the last four years, GO has grown from a community of cancer care equity-focused individuals in Boston/Cambridge to an international organization making substantial impact in its mission to improve cancer and palliative care for underserved patients.  While we have accomplished a lot, GO remains focused on collaborating even more broadly to grow our collective impact.  It is with this goal in mind that GO set out to identify a dedicated and passionate leader to help GO execute on this mission.

We are excited to announce that Ms. Donna Barry has been selected and has agreed to serve as GO’s first executive director.  Donna has an exceptional background in global health, advocacy and policy.  See GO’s June 13th Press Release for the full story!

Please join us in welcoming Donna to the GO community.  We invite your ideas and comments as we embark on this exciting phase of GO’s development.  Please send emails to: info@globalonc.org.

GO Benefit Concert on October 1

4th Annual Global Cancer Research Symposium – April 8

The Symposium took place in San Francisco, per tradition, one day prior to the CUGH annual conference.  GO was a co-sponsor alongside UCSF, Stanford and NCI.  It was a great success! Some stats:

• Largest symposium attendance to date @ 230 people
• Largest percentage attendees from LMICs @ 15%
• Largest number of posters presented
• 85 abstracts submitted; 75 selected
• Most abstracts will be published in ASCO’s Journal of Global Oncology (JGO)

Speakers spanned many disciplines, including government, NGOs, economic and academic institutions, pharma and device companies. We heard from Deputy Director at NCI Center for Global Health, Lisa Stevens; former CEO of the American Cancer Society, John Seffrin; Founder and CEO of The Max Foundation and GO Advisor, Pat Garcia-Gonzalez and many others.

New this year:

• Innovative technology demonstrations, e.g., mobile diagnostic devices
• The Opioid Atlas: globalonc.org/opioidatlas, unveiled by GO and Stanford, making information about opioid access more available.

Thanks to the many GO advisors who helped in the planning and were present at this event.  Many connections made that day, and we all feel that our topic is rising to the limelight.

Next year’s symposium will be in Washington, D.C. See you there!

below: Dr. Ami Bhatt (right) with volunteers Katia Tkachenko and Pedro Gallardo

GO’s Belarus Palliative Care Initiative Team provides on-site training

From June 15th – 18th, the GO Belarus Palliative Care Initiative team visited the Republic of Belarus for the 9th Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Eurasia Oncology and Radiology Congress taking place in Minsk.  The conference was attended by over 3500 clinicians including over 150 palliative care physicians. The GO team was represented by Sarah Slater, MD; Bethany-Rose Daubman, MD; Mihir Kamdar, MD; Natalia Egorova, DNP; Katia Tkachenko and Alex Kazberouk.

The GO team had the tremendous opportunity to share information about inpatient and outpatient palliative care in the United States as well as the treatment of neuropathic pain during three invited talks as part of the formal conference.  Additionally, the team spent a morning at the Minsk Adult Hospice informally answering questions about palliative care in the U.S. and discussing clinical scenarios with palliative care physicians from Belarus.  Finally, the conference offered an opportunity to learn more about palliative care in other former Soviet countries including Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, all of which also sent delegates and speakers to the conference.

This is the second international trip to Belarus organized by the GO Palliative Care Initiative team and we look forward to continuing to build our relationship with partners in Belarus and searching for opportunities to continue to exchange knowledge and collaborate in the future.

below left: (left to right) Dr. Daubman; Dr. Olga Mychko, Director of Minsk Adult Hospice; Dr. Slater; Dr. Kamdar
below right: the GO Palliative Care Initiative team plus Dr. Mychko and staff from the Minsk Adult Hospice

GO team members Galina Gheihman and Kathleen Doyle, MD did not travel to Minsk but were critical to project development leading up to the conference as well as in our long-term collaboration.

Open positions at fellow nonprofit: Metrics for Management

Metrics for Management develops and promotes the adoption of measurement indicators and tools for use in the management of health facilities, health service NGOs, and local governmental administrative agencies in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

The organization’s mission is that all health service operations in LMICs are directed by evidence-based managerial decisions.

GO is happy to share that Metrics for Management is expanding and currently taking applications for the following two job openings:

• Project & Communications Coordinator – Oakland, CA
• Research Analyst – Baltimore/greater Washington, D.C.

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Thank you!