When Billiter came on board at NCH, his technology team consisted of just three people. Today, his team is 16 members strong and growing. Their pioneering use of technology has landed the Research Institute at NCH multiple research grants focused on disease diagnosis and treatment. The Cancer Genome Atlas project is one of the most impressive projects that Billiter’s team is tackling. This federally funded and nationally recognized initiative seeks to unravel the genetics behind 20 common forms of cancer. Children’s Hospital received a $5.5 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to catalog tumor specimens that will be sent from multiple hospitals in the U.S. and other countries. The Cancer Genome Atlas project, ambitious in scope and funding, hopes to make huge inroads in eradicating cancer.
One of Billiter’s favorite projects is the Children’s Oncology Group (COG), an ongoing pediatric cancer program in conjunction with the National Cancer Institute. The mission of COG is to cure and prevent childhood and adolescent cancer through scientific discovery and compassionate care. Billiter’s team oversees billions of data points associated with tumor specimens in the areas of pediatric and adolescent cancers. This data, made available to prestigious research institutes such as the Mayo Clinic and St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, enables many pediatric patients to join clinical trials, an opportunity that dramatically increases their chances of survival. Billiter, the father of three small children with wife, Tara (Kingsley), BA ’98, is touched and motivated by the stories he hears of children who are battling cancer. “Knowing that I’m doing
something to help a 5-year-old get treated faster and get better faster is why I love my job,” he says. Rise to success
How does a sports management major end up in the revolutionary field of bioinformatics? Billiter’s career started at a small IT consulting firm. He ended up consulting on a project at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, which led to a full-time job opportunity. Billiter credits his career success to the well-rounded education he received at Ohio Northern. His B.A. provided him with a solid operations and management background and communication skills that have proved invaluable in the science and research arena. In the field of bioinformatics, it’s easy to fall into the trap of generating big plans that never get completed or, conversely, getting bogged down with minutia. Billiter knows how to
manage projects and produce results. He remains keenly aware of his team’s underlying mission – helping to save people’s lives – and he never lets them forget it. Each day, he’s in his element, acting as a bridge between the IT experts and the scientific stakeholders. He’s a problem solver, taskmaster, strategic thinker and organizational guru all in one. The most difficult part of his job, he says, is staying upto-speed in an environment that is not only complicated, but also evolving almost daily. To keep up, he is always reading and learning. He also recently completed his MBA, and he’s become a certified Project Management Professional. Although his work can be stressful at times, Billiter feels blessed to have landed his “dream job” – a job that makes a difference. “Knowing that every day we are doing something to potentially save someone’s life is just amazing. The satisfaction I feel when I drive to work each day and when I leave is extremely gratifying, I’ve never felt anything like it,” he says.
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ONU BY THE
NUMBERS
1,400 slices of pizza served in McIntosh every week
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30-40 guest artists come to campus every year