UAMS Scientist Crooks Honored by Cancer Institute Auxiliary

Peter Crooks, Ph.D., D.Sc., was honored by the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute for his achievements in drug development.

By Susan Van Dusen

May 25, 2018 | The process of creating new drug therapies is completely foreign to most people. But for UAMS’ Peter Crooks, Ph.D., D.Sc., it’s just another day at the office.

In honor of his many contributions to the field of drug discovery, Crooks was named the 2018 Distinguished Honoree by the volunteer auxiliary of the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute. The award was presented May 17 at a luncheon hosted at the home of auxiliary member Martha Murphy.

Crooks, who serves as chairman of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the UAMS College of Pharmacy, was presented the award by Laura Hutchins, M.D., professor of medicine in the UAMS College of Medicine and associate director of clinical research at the Cancer Institute.

Peter Crooks, Ph.D., D.Sc., (center) is joined by Interim UAMS Chancellor Stephanie Gardner, Pharm.D., Ed.D., (left) and Laura Hutchins, M.D., prior to his introduction as the 2018 UAMS Cancer Institute Auxiliary Distinguished Honoree.

“Dr. Crooks’ extensive career had led to improved therapies for patients with complex medical conditions, including cancer. We are privileged to have him and his research team at UAMS and to be witness to these extraordinary and life-changing discoveries,” Hutchins said.

Among Crooks’ most significant accomplishments is the fact that five drugs discovered in his lab have made it into clinical trials, a years-long, highly regulated process in which people participate as patients or healthy volunteers to determine the safety and effectiveness of new drugs.

“The stars aligned when we recruited Dr. Crooks to bring his drug development program to UAMS. Getting one new drug into clinical trials is a significant accomplishment for any scientist. Dr. Crooks has achieved this milestone five times, which truly deserves recognition and appreciation,” said Stephanie Gardner, Pharm.D., Ed.D., interim UAMS chancellor, senior vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost.

Hutchins described for the crowd of about 60 guests the five drugs Crooks’ team has translated into clinical trials or had approved by the FDA for widespread use:

• Valchor, an anticancer drug approved by the FDA in 2013 to treat early-stage cutaneous T-cell lymphoma
• A drug for treatment of acute myeloid leukemia, currently in phase 1 clinical trials
• Two drugs developed to treat methamphetamine abuse and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
• A drug for treatment of early onset Alzheimer’s disease

His lab is now working on a development of a drug to treat neuropathy, which is the weakness, numbness and pain often experienced by people undergoing cancer treatment.

“I am optimistic for the future. In the next few years, I believe you will find drugs developed at UAMS, patented by UAMS, and used clinically for UAMS patients,” said Crooks, who holds the Simmons Endowed Chair in Cancer Research.

In addition to his clinical trials, Crooks also is a fellow of the U.S. National Academy of Inventors, holds more than 80 issued drug discovery patents and has 103 patent applications pending. His entrepreneurial activities have led to the founding of seven start-up drug discovery companies during the past 30 years.

Crooks’ role as professor of pharmaceutical sciences also has had a significant influence on the future generation of scientists. During his career, he has mentored more than 90 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.

“Dr. Crooks creates magic in the classroom and excites students in ways that no one else can,” Gardner said.

Crooks has authored more than 600 peer-reviewed research articles and 700 symposium abstracts. He serves on the editorial board of several prominent science journals, is a Fellow of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and a Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain.

The Cancer Institute Auxiliary is one of Arkansas’ largest volunteer organizations with almost 500 members dedicated to providing information, service, compassion and hope to those whose lives are touched by cancer. Each year, the auxiliary selects a faculty or staff member at the Cancer Institute to honor for his or her dedication to the institute’s mission.

Janie Lowe serves as director of the UAMS Cancer Institute Department of Volunteer Services and Auxiliary. Tara Smith was the auxiliary’s 2017-2018 president.

Feb. 1, 2017 | The UAMS Mobile Mammography Program recently received a lift from FIS, its newest partner, in the form of a $25,000 gift. For many members of the FIS campus leadership committee, which presented the gift, it is an intensely personal one.

“If you pick anybody off the street from here or this region, and ask them how cancer has impacted their life, odds are very high that they’ve got a connection with UAMS,” said Joel Wheelis, FIS group executive. “It becomes very personal very quickly.”

Fidelity National Information Services Inc., better known by the abbreviation FIS, is an international provider of financial services technology and outsourcing services.

The UAMS MammoVan visited the FIS campus in Little Rock on Jan. 18. There, members of the FIS campus leadership committee presented the $25,000 check to Sharp Malak, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Mobile Mammography Program in the Department of Radiology of the UAMS College of Medicine.

“We’re extremely grateful for this gift because it allows us to serve even more women in rural Arkansas,” Malak said. “Where you live should not determine if you live.”

The gift supports the Mobile Mammography Program, which recently acquired a second MammoVan. The funds from FIS will help refurbish the original MammoVan, which should be operational again in March, Malak said.

The MammoVan regularly travels across Arkansas to provide digital screening mammograms and breast care education. The three-room mobile unit is outfitted with the most advanced digital mammography equipment and is staffed by a certified mammography technologist and a technical assistant.

“Having a second vehicle, we’ll go to some places and be there for days at a time, not only to be in that community but to establish a presence there,” Malak said.

“Women who aren’t near a mammography facility are less likely to get a mammogram, but it doesn’t change their risk of getting breast cancer,” Malak said. “The MammoVan also reduces the financial barrier many women face in seeking breast health services.”

The MammoVan staff partners with community-based organizations, community health centers, work-site wellness locations and others to provide services for women in the towns where the MammoVan visits. The program also guides patients who receive an abnormal screening result through follow-up diagnostic mammography, biopsy and referral to breast oncologic services.

“For rural Arkansas, it’s really a phenomenal way to reach out and help people who might not get that help otherwise,” Wheelis said.

Wheelis knows the value of early detection: it helped save his mother’s life.

Janice Wheelis is a 30-year breast cancer survivor, and was treated at UAMS all those years ago by Kent C. Westbrook, M.D., distinguished professor in the UAMS College of Medicine. During a group tour of the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute late last year, Wheelis had a chance meeting with Dr. Westbrook.

“It really choked me up a bit to see him,” Wheelis said. “Dr. Westbrook and Dr. Laura Hutchins are held in extremely high regard in our family.”

Wheelis’ grandmother did not have the benefit of early detection, and died relatively young from breast cancer. His aunt and cousin, however, have both benefited.

“I truly understand how differently the scenario can play out depending on early detection,” Wheelis said.

Other members of the FIS campus leadership committee, like Susan Nichols, senior legal counsel, were also extremely impressed with the Cancer Institute.

Nichols was treated at UAMS for skin cancer years ago.

“I was incredibly impressed with everybody I came in contact with, and of course the facilities are beautiful,” Nichols said. “The layout and décor makes it so comfortable for patients and their families. It definitely brings down your stress level.”

“This gift to the mobile mammography program not only represents FIS, but the community at large,” Wheelis said. “Our people really have a heart for giving, and we’re very, very happy to be involved and engaged in any way we can.”