When he arrives at the Medical Center this July, Dr. Michael Colvin will try to bring his enthusiasm for both the clinical and research aspects of cancer treatment to the 260-plus members of the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center
Named director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center in February, Colvin takes the lead of one the nation's finest cancer centers on the heels of departures by the former director and deputy director. Dr. Robert Bast left in July to become chief of medicine at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Six months later, the deputy director and acting director of the center, Dr. Bob Bell, accepted a position with Glaxo Inc. as the vice president of research.
"[Colvin] was chosen because he was the best physician/scientist you can find," said Dr. Dirk Iglehart, professor of surgery and acting director of the cancer center during the search, in a February interview.
Colvin said he hopes to mobilize cancer research so that it will translate into clinical trials and develop into accepted therapy. The center's range of clinicians and researchers will help the cancer center continue its efforts to improve cancer treatment.
"There is available to the patient coming to Duke not only the best standard care but also, for people for whom there is no established treatment, the chance to receive treatments," Colvin said.
In addition to aiding patients, developing links between research and clinical science will help bring funds to the basic sciences and ensure recognition of the crucial role basic research plays in the fight against cancer, he said.
"[Connecting programs] will help recruit those people who we perceive to be of particular value to the cancer efforts, but also realize that a lot of the advances are not as obviously related but still have potential value," Colvin said. "You must be careful not to think you know more than you do about what you need."
Decreasing federal funds will be among the toughest obstacles ahead of the cancer center. Colvin said he will attempt to continue the center's recent trend of receiving increasing amounts of federal grants, even though overall funding for cancer research nationwide has decreased.
Efforts to produce cost-saving mechanisms through cooperative efforts are also underway, he said.
"From a scientific point of view it's a particularly unfortunate time to have resources decline," Colvin said. "Not to have the resources to take those efforts to the next step would be very frustrating if it happens."
The interdisciplinary approach of the cancer center is one of its greatest strengths, Colvin said. The center brings resources and facilities together to aid cancer research in a way that cannot be condensed to one building or area of knowledge.
"The cancer center is a matrix that reaches across disciplines to bring in different expertises in a common effort," Colvin said. "[Advancement] literally depends on collegial interaction."
Much of the research will take place in the Medical Science Research Building, newly online, where Colvin's own lab is located. He has been a leader in the field of cancer-related pharmacology. His research includes the development of antitumor drugs and autologous bone marrow transplants, in which the patient's bone marrow is removed, treated and restored. He has also worked with Dr. Henry Friedman, a University professor of hematology-oncology and pediatrics, in a 13-year ongoing project to develop new treatments for brain tumors.
Colvin said he plans to continue his research at the Medical Center and to improve the pharmacology department.
"One of my major interests is both to develop cancer pharmaceuticals and [hold] clinical trials at Duke," Colvin said.
Under his leadership, the cancer center may become more involved in screening new drugs, developed in industry and by academic medical centers, for toxicity and effectiveness.
While at Johns Hopkins University, he led the pharmacology department of their Oncology Center before becoming more involved with administrative concerns.
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