Institutional Review Board safeguards patient rights in cancer clinical trials A T 23
P E R C E N T , Christiana Care’s Helen F. Graham Cancer Center has one of the highest patient accrual rates for cancer clinical trials in the U.S., far above the national average of 5 percent.
The Christiana Care Institutional Review Board (IRB) represents the interests of patients who participate in cancer clinical trials and safeguards their rights and welfare. The IRB also ensures compliance with all federal and state regulatory requirements and ethical principles and reports to the Quality and Safety Committee of the Christiana Care Board of Directors. Twenty members, volunteers from multiple medical disciplines and the community, serve on one of two IRB committees chaired by Gary Johnson, Ph.D., and Steven Kushner, M.D. All research that involves human subjects or their data at Christiana Care must be approved by the IRB. According to IRB Director Jerry Castellano, Pharm.D., CIP, cancer research trials
constitute a significant percentage of the IRB workload. The Christiana Care IRB also reviews and approves cancer research trials for protocols conducted at hospital affiliates of Christiana Care's Community Clinical Oncology Program (CCOP) at the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center.
THE IRB TEAM, FROM LEFT: Sonia Martinez-Colon, executive assistant; Jerry Castellano, BS, Pharm.D, CIP, corporate director; Lauren Pigeon, CPhT, administrative assistant II; Janet Leary-Prowse, MSEd, CIP, research education specialist; Heidi Derr, CIP, regulatory affairs and auditing specialist; and Judy Hutt, administrative assistant.
Meet our new team members Beverly Cusano, MHA, joined
Christiana Care as director of Radiation Oncology in August 2012. She replaces former director William Holden, MBA, RN, RT, (T), (R), who is now Vice President
of the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center. As director, Ms. Cusano has oversight for all Radiation Oncology operations at the Graham Cancer Center and Christiana Hospital as well as at satellites in Elkton, Md., and North Wilmington, Del. She has extensive experience in health care administration, having worked most recently (2009-2012) as director of Radiation Oncology for Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. Her background as a radiation therapist, coupled with her master’s degree in health administration, gives her a patient-centric perspective of the radiation therapy process. 6 Christiana Care Health System
Cardiothoracic Surgeon Brian T. Nam, M.D., joined the Thoracic/Esophageal Cancers multidisciplinary team at the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center following fellowship training in his specialty at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He received his medical degree from the University of Minnesota and competed residency training in general surgery at the Mayo Clinic in 2010. Dr. Nam specializes in minimally invasive treatments for esophageal and lung cancers including videoassisted thoracic surgery and minimally invasive esophagectomy. His research includes using “fast track” standardized protocols to promote faster recovery and shorter hospital stays.