Christine M. Lovly, MD, PhD, joins LUNGevity's Scientific Advisory Board

WASHINGTON, April 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- LUNGevity Foundation, the nation's premier lung cancer-focused nonprofit organization, announced today that Christine M. Lovly, MD, PhD, has joined its Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Lovly is associate professor of medicine at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center as well as co-leader of the Translational Research and Interventional Oncology Program at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center.

Dr. Lovly, a former LUNGevity Career Development Awardee, is a physician-scientist who splits her time between clinical care and laboratory research. Her clinical practice focuses primarily on the care of patients with lung cancer. Her laboratory research focuses on understanding and developing improved therapeutic strategies for specific clinically relevant molecular subsets of lung cancer. Dr. Lovly is also co-editor-in-chief for the website www.mycancergenome.org, a Vanderbilt-initiated freely available website that aims to provide healthcare practitioners, patients, and advocates with up-to-date information on genetically informed cancer medicine. 

"We are thrilled to have Dr. Lovly join LUNGevity's Scientific Advisory Board," said Andrea Ferris, president and CEO of LUNGevity Foundation. "Dr. Lovly was a recipient of LUNGevity's Career Development Award, and we are proud that the support LUNGevity provided enabled her to further her research and develop her expertise in lung cancer. She has become a distinguished thoracic oncology expert known for her breadth of expertise on lung cancer research and treatment; we are pleased she can join her mentors on our esteemed Scientific Advisory Board as colleagues. On behalf of LUNGevity, I would also like to extend gratitude to Dr. Lovly, who is currently working the frontlines of the COVID-19 public health crisis, completing research on the virus; her efforts will hopefully help us all."

LUNGevity's Scientific Advisory Board, a group of 25 distinguished scientists and researchers that guides LUNGevity's research program, oversees the Foundation's translational research strategy and ensures that grants are awarded to researchers whose proposals demonstrate the greatest potential for finding lung cancer at its earliest, most treatable phase as well as extending and improving lives for lung cancer survivors.

In addition to guiding the research program, members of the Board assist the Foundation in numerous ways, including speaking at events and conferences; acting as key opinion leaders and experts on lung cancer at meetings; reviewing LUNGevity's education materials to ensure accuracy; providing insights and observations of barriers and issues within lung cancer care; and more. The members of the Scientific Advisory Board represent the level of integrity and scientific standards that LUNGevity is striving for in all aspects of the Foundation.

"We are pleased to have the support of such accomplished and renowned lung cancer experts on our Scientific Advisory Board," said Upal Basu Roy, PhD, MPH, Vice President of Research at LUNGevity. "We strategically select members based on the expertise, new perspective, and geographical diversity they bring to the table. They are the fabric of our organization and help ensure LUNGevity is tackling the most important issues that those affected by lung cancer face, from clinical trial access to ensuring patients receive optimal care."

Dr. Lovly received a BA in chemistry from Johns Hopkins University followed by MD and PhD degrees as part of the Medical Scientist Training Program at Washington University in St. Louis, MO. She then completed internal medicine residency and medical oncology subspecialty training at Vanderbilt University. During her final year of fellowship, she was the Jim and Carol O'Hare Chief Fellow. Dr. Lovly has been a faculty member at Vanderbilt since July 2013.

LUNGevity is proud to welcome this exceptional physician and scientist to its Scientific Advisory Board.

About LUNGevity Foundation

LUNGevity is the nation's leading lung cancer organization investing in lifesaving, translational research and providing support services and education for patients and caregivers. LUNGevity's goals are three-fold: (1) accelerate research to patients, (2) empower patients to be active participants in their treatment decisions, and (3) remove barriers that patients face in accessing the right treatments.

LUNGevity Foundation is firmly committed to making an immediate impact on increasing quality of life and survivorship of people with lung cancer by accelerating research into early detection and more effective treatments, as well as by providing community, support, and education for all those affected by the disease. LUNGevity's comprehensive resources include a medically vetted website, a toll-free HELPLine in partnership with CancerCare®, a unique Lung Cancer Navigator app, peer-to-peer mentoring for patients and caregivers (LUNGevity LifeLine), and survivorship conferences. LUNGevity also helps patients find and navigate clinical trials through our Clinical Trial Finder tool, a Clinical Trial Ambassador program, and participation with EmergingMed.

Our vision is a world where no one dies of lung cancer. For more information about LUNGevity Foundation, a four-star Charity Navigator organization, please visit www.LUNGevity.org.

About Lung Cancer in the U.S.

• About 1 in 16 Americans will be diagnosed with lung cancer in their lifetime
• More than 228,000 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with lung cancer this year
• About 60%-65% of all new lung cancer diagnoses are among people who have never smoked or are former smokers
• Lung cancer takes more lives than the next three leading cancers (colorectal, breast, and prostate) combined
• Only 19% of all people diagnosed with lung cancer will survive 5 years or more, BUT if it's caught before it spreads, the chance of 5-year survival improves dramatically

SOURCE LUNGevity Foundation

Related Links

http://www.lungevity.org