Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute Magazine

About the Magazine

The Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute Magazine is produced by the Office of Communications and Marketing, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in Little Rock, Arkansas

Learn More

Director’s Message

It is my great pleasure to introduce this inaugural issue of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute Magazine.

Read Message

Research Highlights

A National Resource for Cancer Discovery

These state-of-the-art technologies and tools are located in the Proteomics Shared Resource on the ninth floor of the Cancer Institute.

Members of the Leung Lab at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute include scientists (l to r): Farhana Nasrin, Claire Greene, Kirk West Ph.D., Justin Leung Ph.D., Seong-ok Lee, Jessica Kelliher and Yu Chen.

On a Mission to Understand DNA Repair in Cancer Cells

When DNA is damaged, the human body has a built-in repair shop known as the DNA damage response pathway that maintains the integrity of our genetic material.

The Liquid Biopsy Detecting Cancer Through Blood Tests

Donald L. Johann Jr., M.D. and other researchers around the world earlier reported their validation of the processes for using the technique to detect cancer.

Myeloma Research Director Frank Zhan, M.D., Ph.D.

Total Immunotherapy

Asking and finding answers to the most complex scientific questions has never been a problem for researchers at the world-renowned Myeloma Center.

TOP (Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, UAMS Chancellor Cam Patterson, M.D., MBA, and Arkansas Research Alliance Director Jerry Adams, welcome Alan Tackett, Ph.D., Cancer Institute Deputy Director, to the ARA Academy of Fellows; BOTTOM UAMS Cardio-oncologist Edward Yeh, M.D., chair of the UAMS Department of Internal Medicine, is welcomed to the academy as a scholar.

Two Scientists Inducted into Arkansas Research Alliance Academy

The Arkansas Research Alliance inducted two of the Cancer Institute’s best and brightest into their Academy of Fellows and Scholars at the organization’s 2021 annual meeting.

Cancer Therapeutics

The program focuses on developing hypotheses and evidence-based translational strategies for improved cancer treatment.

Cancer Prevention and Populations Sciences

The Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences (CPPS) Research Group addresses the disparity that cancer incidence in Arkansas.

Cancer Biology

The Cancer Biology Program (CBP) investigators study the basic biology of cancer.

Immunotherapy Deep Dive

Brian Koss, Ph.D. is the state’s first recipient of the prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s Early Independence Award.

A New Dawn of Treatment

After successful CAR T-cell therapy at UAMS, Dave Puente of Elk Grove, California, was in dancing shape for his daughter’s wedding last spring.

The Cancer Institute is partnering with Arkansas Children’s, Baptist Health and Proton International to build the new center that will provide a more advanced and precise form of radiation treatment for children and adults with solid tumors.

Proton Center of Arkansas

In good news for Arkansas cancer patients, the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute will open the state’s first proton therapy center in 2023.

UAMS Baptist Health Cancer Center located on Baptist’s North Little Rock campus

A Shared Commitment to Cancer Care in Arkansas

In August 2021, the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute opened its first satellite cancer center in partnership with Baptist Health.

Institute Welcomes Dr. Shi-Ming Tu

Joining the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute’s growing team of clinicians is Shi-Ming Tu, M.D., who specializes in the treatment of genitourinary cancers.

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences LogoUniversity of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute

Clinical Overview

Clinical Overview of UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute

Social Work Provides Essential Support to Ease the Cancer Burden

Care Creates Comfort

Patients and families come to the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute from many places, in various stages of their disease and from many different life situations.

Clinical Trials Office Grows in Preparation for NCI Designation

The 65-person Clinical Trials Team oversees approximately 260 active clinical studies, averaging 500 participants across 12 cancer types annually.

Researchers fight Myeloma

Carolina Schinke, M.D., is leading a clinical trial at the Myeloma Center r to study the effectiveness of a new myeloma-fighting drug, talquetamab.

UAMS is Top Enroller in NCI’s Breast Cancer Screening Trial

The Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute is a top participant in the National Cancer Institute’s TMIST (Tomosynthesis Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial).

Cancer navigators, Robin Thrower and Carline Massey spread the word about the program at the 2022 Be A Part of the Cure Walk.

Lighting the Way

Robin Thrower and Carline Massey, two of the Cancer Institute’s first cancer navigators, didn’t have to look far or long to find patients in their communities in need of help.

UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute

Community Advisory Board

In October 2021, the Community Outreach and Engagement Office (COE) of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute established an advisory board comprised of 15 people.

In a first, high school science fair winners were invited to the Cancer Institute for a day of learning and exploring.

The Future of Cancer Research

In the past year, we have focused a lot on early exposure to cancer research through our partnership with the Little Rock School District.

Winthrop P. Rockefeller Institute Director Michael Birrer, M.D., Ph.D., takes an interest in a student research project.

Celebration of Student Discovery Symposium

The UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute held its first Celebration of Student Discovery Symposium on April 14 for students and teachers in cancer research.

Little Rock Central High School Senior Anu Iyer balances life as a student and as a research intern with the UAMS Department of Biomedical Informatics.

High School Student Earns Spot on Research Team

Cancer Institute member Fred Prior, Ph.D., served as mentor to Little Rock High School student Anu Iyer.

We Appreciate Your Support

Even during a pandemic, support for the Cancer Institute continued with more energy and passion than ever.

Larry Crain Sr. pledged $1 million to honor his late wife, Janett, who died of cancer in 2018. The gift also honored Janett’s caregivers and Crain’s sister-in-law, who survived advanced lung cancer thanks to a clinical trial. In appreciation of the gift, UAMS renamed the Seed of Hope Garden on the Cancer Institute’s ground floor as the Janett Crain Seed of Hope Garden.

Auxiliary Closes in on $3 Million in Grants

Despite the pandemic and a slightly smaller volunteer pool, the Cancer Institute Auxiliary made a significant impact on the well-being of our patients and staff this past year.

New Mexico businessman and grateful patient raises awareness, funds for multiple myeloma

Caballos Against Cancer

When New Mexico restaurateur, rancher and attorney Ed Tinsley III got an unusual result on a blood test in late 2010, he had no idea what lay ahead.

Kinco Invests in Cancer Care

Kinco Constructors is an Arkansas-based company with team members and clients all across the state and region.