May 2024 Insider Digest

New HOPE Center Operations creates ‘clinical command center’

BY KERRY GOFF

In April 2023, St. Jude launched a project with BDC Advisors, a consultant firm, to create a “best-in-class” clinical command center to elevate the level of care, quality and experience for patients and families.

Over 40 stakeholders across the organization were part of the collaborative process to envision the project. The group identified a vision statement and five main priorities: patient and staff experience, operations/clinical impact, clinical command center structure, technology and collaboration.

As news of the command center spread, there was some confusion regarding the name. Many individuals thought it was going to be an incident command center, so a new name was needed. In December 2023, a naming contest was held. Hundreds of employees made suggestions. The Command Center Triad Plus Team voted for the top five submissions, then a survey of the top five was sent to the original group that attended the initial visioning session. Out of this contest a name was chosen: the Hospital Operations and Patient Enterprise Center (HOPE Center).

“And it just so happens that that suggestion was made by our Clinical Logistics director, Nolan Eason,” said Lauren McMurry, manager, HOPE Center Operations.

The process for identifying hospitals with command centers began immediately after the initial visioning session. Field visits were conducted at many children’s hospitals while BDC Advisors conducted group interviews with stakeholders to focus on the priority processes for the upcoming command center. Three priorities were selected to be addressed in the first year of implementing the clinical command center: tiered emergency response, centralized staffing and analytics with actionable data.

“The reason for the colocation is to improve efficiency. Managers were initially scattered across the institution; we were just everywhere,” McMurry said.

McMurry said, “But we also want to improve the staff experience and make sure that nursing staff is allocated appropriately in the hospital and make sure that the nurses who are doing the actual work with the patients feel supported by us.”

With site visits completed and vendors selected, the team worked on establishing a Triad Plus team and outfitting the new command center space. The teams work together as followed:

HOPE Center Triad Plus team:

• Nolan Eason Director, Clinical Logistics

• Austin Hudson Director, Clinical Operations

• Ray Morrison, MD Chief, Critical Care Division

HOPE Center colleagues take a moment to enjoy the new space.

• Carly Meredith Manager, Advanced Practice Operations

• Lauren McMurry Manager, HOPE Center Operations

HOPE Center occupants:

• Lauren McMurry Manager, HOPE Center Operations

• Amanda Bowling Manager, House Supervisor

• Katrina Pennington Manager, Care Coordination and Nurse Navigator

• Rebecca Tafaro Boyer Manager, Vascular Access Team

• Sara Barnes Manager, Central Staffing

• Taryn Donley

Senior Administrative Coordinator, HOPE Center

• Jenny Harp

Senior Administrative Specialist, HOPE Center House supervisors and staffing supervisors also “live” in the HOPE Center

The Clinical Logistics staff and the HOPE Center will work to enhance clinical and operational efficiency while keeping patient and staff experience at the core with a five-year phased timeline of goals, priorities and actions. “We want to make sure that we are eliminating delays in patient room placement, patient throughput and medical transportation,” McMurry said.

McMurry said that the closer these teams work together, the more proactive they can be: “We’re hoping to get to a point where we’re collecting enough data to be able to predict issues in the future.”

The managers moved into the new command center in February 2024, and they appreciate the new space. “It’s so wonderful to have all of the managers and everybody here in the same space to be able to collaborate and communicate,” McMurry said. “It has made a big difference.”

Feel Good Friday: How Concierge Services delivers the best patient family experience

BY SASHA STEINBERG

The Feel Good Friday series is a periodic look at inspirational, positive and uplifting stories from members of the St. Jude community.

Running errands with small children can be a challenge for any busy adult.

For parents or caregivers, those tasks can become more challenging when their child or loved one receives a cancer diagnosis and treatment schedule.

But at St. Jude, there’s no need to worry.

From grocery shopping to prescription pickup to mail drop-off, the Concierge Services staff takes care of these and other everyday needs for free, so patient families can focus on the needs that matter most to them.

“We want to assist in any way possible,” said Cecilia Barajas, Concierge Services manager. “Families may request cooler-clothing items that their kids have outgrown or even flip flops and sandals. For Mother’s Day or other holidays, we can take care of gift shopping and gift wrapping, so families don’t have to leave campus and can embrace the joy of those occasions stress-free.”

Concierge Services’ guest service representatives are part of Best Upon Request, a national concierge service company. At St. Jude, these individuals help patient families with non-medical needs or tasks, including moving assistance between housing facilities, shipping, automotive services, and general care and comfort.

“Families may have difficulty finding specialty food items to suit their dietary restrictions or may just be missing

grocery products they are used to getting at home,” Barajas said. “We know where to track down those hardto-find items at stores and markets across Memphis.”

The concierge team operates both the Patient Care Center and Chili’s Care Center lobby desks. In addition, team members round daily on the outpatient areas to ask how they can help.

Barajas said all St. Jude employees play an important role in connecting new caregivers with this service.

“St. Jude offers this service, free of charge. Caregivers only pay for the cost of the goods and services they request,” Barajas said. “We hope employees will refer families and caregivers to us often, so we can help give families and caregivers more time to focus on healing.”

That help has been well received over the six years that Concierge Services has been in operation.

The Concierge Services staff includes (back row, l-r), Cecilia Barajas; Hailey Brown; (front row, l-r) Tasha Washington; Kelly Harris; Diana Rivera; Yoana Barajas; and Crystal Vignola.

Journey to the Jude: Sue Ellison, School Program

BY SASHA STEINBERG

In celebration of School Program Appreciation Week, Sue Ellison shares why she loves teaching in the St. Jude School Program.

“I started at St. Jude in 2006. I’m originally from England, a place called Ipswich, which is just north of London. I’ve lived in lots of different places, all around the U.K. and in Boston, Massachusetts, and then here in Memphis. I follow soccer and each week, it is easy to support a team from any match on TV as we seem to have lived in many of the places. My brother came here for the eclipse, and we thought it would be fun to take him to a Memphis 901FC game. We lived in Germantown for 16 years, and we’re currently living on Mud Island. It’s full of St. Jude yard signs! I’ve made quite a lot of friends in the time that we have been here. There’s a lot of people who are not native Memphians, and I’ve met them because we’re all transplants. There’s a bond between us because we’re all not where we were brought up, but we’re all determined to put down roots and grow.

Both of my parents were teachers. They didn’t funnel me into teaching, but I really never thought of doing anything else. My father taught woodwork, metal work and technical drawing at a high school. Originally, my mom was a high school music teacher and then she changed to become an elementary teacher. My father made all of our furniture. Once I was married and had a home, Dad would come and do any jobs that were needed like build bookcases or move the kitchen around; he was really practical.

When I came to St. Jude, I was the sixth teacher in our School Program, so that made seven with the director. There are now 26 of us—13 teachers, plus school advocacy coordinators, a librarian, a STEM coordinator and our own administrative assistant. We teach all of the subjects —

reading, writing, math, social studies, science. We have to be well rounded. I like teaching math. In England, we called it ‘maths’ with an ‘s’ on the end. It’s taken me a long time to get used to calling it ‘math.’ I like the logic of math, and I love seeing the kids’ expressions when they ‘get’ it. It’s really nice when you realize they’ve learned the different techniques and know what the steps are.

I like working with kids, especially the younger ones. I tell them if they get taller than me, I can’t teach them.

Because we work one-on-one, I can give grace and leeway. I tell my students to tell me if they don’t understand something, and we’ll do it again a different way. There’s no one here to judge or criticize them. We can do it as many times as they’d like until they’re sure they understand. We have the flexibility here to wait and give them time to figure out the answers. Some students don’t need the extra thinking time, but some of the brain tumor patients need that extra time and will need it for the future. That’s one of the reasons we have a big advocacy program.

Sue Ellison has been a teacher in the St. Jude School Program for more than 18 years.

Our educational advocates can liaise with the school back home and support the kids once they’ve gone back to school.

In our School Program, we try and work with the students’ assignments from their schools. There are different ways of getting the work for the child. Some schools have time to put things together and send work for them, but other times, they don’t because the child is suddenly on a plane here after being diagnosed. With the advent of email and those sorts of things, we can readily keep in contact with the schools back home and keep the kids going. Things have improved in a way since COVID because more schools have Chromebooks, iPads and online assignments. If needed, we can build a curriculum according to state standards. We can search out the standards and do whatever we need to keep that child on the right page, so that when they go back to school, they can fit in with where they should be.

The classroom in our School Program is a little different from their classroom back home. Back home, there’s one teacher and ‘x’ number of children. Here, the classroom might have five teachers in it, and there might be five, six or seven students because some of them might have one or two. It’s very lighthearted in a way. They can eat if they need to. They don’t have to wait their turn and get a ticket to go to the restroom; it’s there. They just have to tell us they’re going. We try to provide a ‘normal’ environment and take that stress off of them. We follow the Tennessee agreement of three hours a week for curriculum pursuits, but there are all sorts of added-on activities that are available, like reading to a dog, STEM activities, and chess club.

Family Commons is amazing. We have wonderful facilities…a preschool…a lab where we can do experiments. What’s nice is we can take the kids and the parents can go chill in Family Commons for an hour, but they’re near enough where we can call them if we need them. They get that hour to themselves or to make a phone call or have a massage or something like that.

We make our schedule to fit in with the patients’ appointments. If they don’t have any other appointments,

they’ll often come just for school. They have all the Family Commons stuff available. They might have a gap and don’t mind hanging around waiting for school sometimes because they can go off to the Makerspace and do something with (Makerspace Supervisor) Amie (Plumley) and then come to school.

Chocolate tastes different in England. I had a student here at St. Jude who liked Kit Kats, so I used to bring back British Kit Kats for him. He’d come for a follow-up, and he’d go, ‘Have you been to England recently?’ I know to always leave space in my suitcase for chocolate.”

Science runs in the family: Susan Ogg, RN, and Cameron Ogg, PhD

BY KERRY GOFF

St. Jude employees take pride in their work and many times, they inspire family members to join the mission. This Mother’s Day, we highlight one family who has made science a family affair.

For Susan Ogg, RN, and Cameron Ogg, PhD, supporting the St. Jude mission is a family tradition.

Susan, a nursing research specialist III in Pediatric Medicine, has worked at St. Jude for 20 years. Cameron has been at St. Jude for almost seven years. She’s a postdoctoral research associate in the lab of Lindsay Schwarz, PhD, Developmental Neurobiology.

Robert Ogg, PhD, Susan’s husband and Cameron’s father, worked at St. Jude for 30 years. The family moved from Charlottesville, Virginia when Cameron was little, and she grew up in Memphis with her three brothers.

Susan has seen how much the research has done for patients and families and loves the fact that she can be a part of studies that are a help to so many. “I recently attended a parent panel for Nursing Week and was reminded how much nurses are respected and appreciated at St. Jude.”

Like many children who grew up with parents as St. Jude employees, Cameron and her brothers are familiar with the campus. “I enjoyed science at a young age, but the way I saw it was that I wanted to ‘do my own science’—something different than what mom and dad were doing,” she said. But her scientific path would cross with both of her parents.

Cameron said she never felt pressured to go into science or get at job at St. Jude. The institution has grown so quickly that opportunities opened that needed her expertise.

“When I was at the end of grad school, I wrote a fan letter to Lindsay Schwarz telling her how amazing her research was and she reached out to me and said, ‘We could use people like you,’ so here I am,” Cameron said.

When Cameron talks about the brain, her face lights up and she gets excited: “I was in college and studying ecology, but I took a class where the teacher talked about the brain, and I found it fascinating. I called home and said, ‘the brain is amazing’!”

Susan said, “We often joke that there’s an ongoing peer review panel in our living room. Can you imagine living with two neuroscientists? I don’t know if I will ever win an argument.”

Susan said that the Oggs are curious people. They often share their work with each other. “Sometimes we edit each other’s research and even practice presentations with each other,” Susan said. “Even though we are in different departments, we know we are working toward the same goals.”

From left, Cameron Ogg, PhD, and her mother, Susan Ogg, RN

Cameron is also a mother. Her son, Hadrian, is 17. “I am in awe of my daughter and what she has accomplished professionally and as a mother. She worked hard to get her degree while raising a child. I think that deserves a lot of respect and recognition,” Susan said.

“Awww…Mom,” Cameron responded, a little misty-eyed. “I learned it from the best.”

Feel Good Friday: Explore Lab helpers provide science and support for patients

BY BRITTNEY BRYANT

The Feel Good Friday series is a periodic look at inspirational, positive and uplifting stories from members of the St. Jude community.

Elephant toothpaste, Jell-O earthquakes and potato batteries are a few of the recent experiments in the Explore Lab. As part of the School Program, the lab features weekly STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) activities for patients and siblings.

Randy Thompson, STEM program coordinator, plans and coordinates weekly Explore Lab activities. The experiments are educational, but Thompson also tries to make them exciting. He said it’s important to provide a fun experience for patients.

“We try to provide normalcy. Patients come in after surgery or with chemo packs, but no one notices that. They just see each other as a kid doing science,” Thompson said.

After beginning with one lab in September 2023, the number of weekly lab offerings continues to increase. There were 85 lab sessions in March. New experiments are offered every week with options for kindergarten through fifth grade and sixth through 12th grade. Thompson also recently added a Spanish-speaking lab session.

With labs filling up and demand growing, Thompson knew he needed help. Through St. Jude Today, he asked employees for help facilitating experiments. He said the response was incredible.

“Over 100 staff members from departments across the hospital expressed interest,” Thompson said. “Now, we have 20 to 30 employees helping in the lab every month.”

Colin Butler, Strategic Design director in the Office of Strategic Innovation and Design, volunteered in the lab three times this year and plans to sign-up for more sessions.

“It’s an opportunity to support patients in a new way by helping them learn and have fun,” Butler said.

Explore Lab opportunities are available every month. A science background is not necessary, and helpers can choose their level of involvement in the experiment. Employees can lead the experiment or set up materials and assist patients.

For employees with limited patient interaction, Butler said it’s an easy way to show support and give back to the mission.

“It shows the patients and families that you’re not just here working a job; you’ll make time for them,” Butler said. “It gives you a better understanding of the patients we help.”

Randy Thompson, STEM program coordinator, plans weekly Explore Lab experiments and activities.

As a Hematology researcher, Kalin Mayberry wanted to share her love of science with patients. She is also a repeat lab helper.

“It’s interesting to see the light bulbs go off in their head when they understand the experiment. It reminds me of when I first got interested in science,” Mayberry said.

Nikitha Nimmagadda, researcher in Hematology, volunteered with Mayberry. She said she appreciates the chance to connect with colleagues and interact with patients. Although the lab is about teaching science to patients, Nimmagadda admits that she learns from their unique perspective as well.

“One patient asked about my work and was curious about sickle cell disease. She cleverly said it should be called pickle cell disease because the cell shape looks like a pickle,” Nimmagadda said.

On the patient side, this also provides an opportunity to connect with staff from other departments. In the lab, Thompson asks helpers to explain their role at the hospital and how it relates to curing pediatric catastrophic diseases.

“The kids love to learn about the different careers. Everyone’s job at St. Jude is important, whether you’re an electrician or a vice president, we are working towards the same goal,” Thompson said.

For more information on becoming an Explore Lab helper, email Randy Thompson.

Journey to the Jude: Joseph Gutierrez, Nursing

BY SASHA STEINBERG

In celebration of National Nurses Month, Pediatric Oncology Nurse Joseph Gutierrez shares how he developed a Texas-sized love for St. Jude.

“I am originally from El Paso, Texas, born and raised. Transitioning to Memphis was quite a change for me, being that I had never previously lived anywhere outside of Texas. What I enjoy about working and living in Memphis is being able to be part of a different culture and environment from what I was accustomed to in West Texas. Acclimating to Memphis was a challenge, but being able to explore the area, enjoy a different culture, meet new people and serve a different community has been an honor and something I am grateful for.

Growing up, I always loved helping people. One of my core values growing up was to always be kind and serve others. If I was able to help people or simply make someone smile, I felt I was fulfilling my purpose in life.

I would always see St. Jude commercials on TV growing up, and I knew it was a place I wanted to be, so I could share my gift with others. I believe the values that St. Jude stands for are perfectly aligned with the values I had growing up and believe in to this day.

What I enjoy about working at St. Jude is not only the caring community between patients and staff but also how we all share the same passion for wanting to help others by making a difference.

When I hear the words ‘St. Jude,’ it always brings me back to one word, and that’s ‘hope.’ As Danny Thomas himself believed, ‘No child should die in the dawn of life.’

I began my journey at St. Jude in January 2023 as part of the nurse residency program. As a nurse working on the 3 Kay inpatient unit (intermediate care unit), I’m part

of a team that works with and helps kids with various conditions/illnesses, from Solid Tumor/Neuro oncology service to leukemia and sickle cell diagnosis, in addition to step-down patients from the ICU. These experiences have helped me continue to grow and have shaped me into the individual I am today both professionally and personally.

Whether it be in the care I give or simply taking the time to talk to them or play games with them, I enjoy helping to bring smiles to the faces of the children at a time when they are going through so much.

I love the diversity within the St. Jude community between both staff and families. I have met and worked with a few people from my home state and people who share my ethnic background, and it gives me great joy and a home-away-from-home feeling.

Being a Hispanic/Latino male myself, I’m happy to see so many people of different cultures and ethnic backgrounds coming together for one common goal.”

Joseph Gutierrez, a pediatric oncology nurse in the 3 Kay Inpatient Unit, joined St. Jude in 2023.

Military Spotlight: Employees share their families’ stories of service

BY MIKE O’KELLY

As part of the Memorial Day observance, the St. Jude Military Support Resource Group asked employees to share stories of their family members’ military service during any era of history. Below are some of the stories we received in addition to those shared by St. Jude employees who are military veterans.

Achebe Bell, Security, Security Operations Center supervisor

“I would like to honor two military heroes in my family. My grandfather, Richard Bell Sr., fought in Pearl Harbor (pictured left) and was discharged with a Purple Heart, and my father, James Robert Bell, who fought in the Vietnam War and was honorably discharged.”

Jennifer Burgess, Epidemiology and Cancer Control, Clinical Research Associate

Jennifer Burgess shares the story of her grandfather, Wilburn Burgess Sr. (Pops), a crew member for the Merchant Marines in World War II.

“His ship was torpedoed after they departed Bombay in March 1944. Two lifeboats deployed and escaped destruction. One of them sped off with only a handful of men, while the other boat held 37 men that was meant for 31. My grandfather was one of the survivors on that boat for 17 days before being rescued by Allied forces.

Pops passed in 2016, and I only heard him speak of it one time. Several things that always amazed me about this: After he was sent home to get well and recuperate, he was sent back to serve out his duty. This was a time that the Merchant Marines didn’t have military status or privileges.

There was an engineer on board who was able to make the sea water drinkable. My grandfather said when they were rescued, they had enough rations for one day. He also said there were commissary items that capsized and were protected under a dry spot from part of the ship.”

Jeff Gatlin, Facilities Operations and Maintenance, Utilities and Central Energy Plant manager

Jeff Gatlin shares the story of his eighth great grandfather, David Pulsipher Jr., who lived from 1708 to 1775 and served in the Battle of Bunker (Breed’s) Hill, the first major battle of the American Revolution.

David and Elizabeth Pulsipher built the first log cabin inn and tavern in the Rockingham, Vermont, area. This is the Bunker/Breed’s Hill story as recorded by his grandson, Zerah Pulsipher.

“But when the Revolutionary War commenced my father was very young and being away from home one day he heard that the British Army had destroyed some military stores at Concord, Massachusetts, and being fired with indignation

he sought for a recruiting officer and enlisted for one campaign. When he returned home and informed his father of the circumstances, the old gentleman told him that he was too young and that he would enlist and go with him.

Accordingly, he did, and they both went to Boston, Massachusetts. In the memorable Battle of Bunker Hill, the 17th of June 1775, there they stood side by side and fought with about 13 Americans against 3,000 of the British for about two hours.”

Thomas Gordon, Solid/Brain Tumor Clinic, patient representative

Thomas Gordon served more than 20 years in the U.S. Armed Forces, serving in the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Army and the Air Force Reserves.

His mother, Mary Horton, served for more than 30 years in the U.S. Air Force and his sister, E. Marie Butler, served more than 20 years in the U.S. Air Force.

Karen Hill, Computational Biology, senior administrative specialist

“I would like to honor my father, Tommy Hurst Sr., who is a proud, patriotic Vietnam veteran. He served from 1967 to 1969 as a U.S. Army Combat Infantryman, where he received the Purple Heart. He served in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969.”

Wenda Mitchell, Managed Care, senior managed care specialist

Wenda Mitchell comes from a family of military veterans. She has three sisters and two brothers-in-law who served in the U.S. Army, a niece and a nephew who served in the U.S. Army and a nephew who served in the U.S. Navy.

She is highlighting her sister, Joyce Easley, and her husband, Wesley, who both recently retired from their civilian jobs after 22 years of service. The couple met in the U.S. and went to Korea during her second tour of service.

Wesley (U.S. Army, retired Sergeant First Class, aviation maintainer, served from 1979 to 2001.)

Joyce (U.S. Army, retired Sergeant First Class, transportation logistics, served from 1979 to 2001.)

Danielle Neely, Pathology, senior administrative specialist Danielle Neely shares the story of both of her parents’ service in the U.S. Navy.

My dad joined in 1969 and served during the Vietnam era, completing 20 years before retiring as an accomplished Command Senior Chief. My mom was a Yeoman Third Class in the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps and then joined the reserves during the Gulf War. My parents met at the Navy base in Millington in 1980. They have been happily married for 42 years.

After my dad’s naval career, our family moved frequently due to his professional career. In 2000, we returned to the area when my dad took a civil service position as the Millington Navy base’s telecommunications program manager for the Navy Recruiting Command. It wasn’t until his retirement banquet 16 years later that we found out that he led the negotiations for the telecommunications contracts for all recruiters’ cellphones and saved the Navy $2 million.

To say my dad is a humble man is an understatement. There are numerous stories I could share to illustrate the many accomplishments and sacrifices they both made during their service in the Navy, but if I were to summarize my feelings in one word, it would be “proud.”

Brin Schaechtel, Family, Guest and Volunteer Services, program coordinator, events and programs

Brin Schaechtel shares the story of her grandfather, Harold Schaechtel, and her father, Harold Schaechtel Jr., who served in the U.S. Army. Her grandfather’s three brothers, Paul, Martin, and Eugene, also served in the military. Her grandfather served during World War II and her father served with the First Air Calvary Division in the Vietnam War.

Terry Zazzara, RN, SJLIFE Study visit coordinator

My husband, Michael Zazzara, (AW/SW) HMC, USN retired, is a former Navy Chief with 24 years of activeduty service. We met when he was home on leave after boot camp in the Great Lakes in 1986. We raised a family of four during his military career.

We spent most of his career in the Norfolk area where he served on the USS King DDG-41, USS Mount Whitney LCC-20 and USS Theodore Roosevelt CVN-71. We were also stationed at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi for four years where he made chief. He finished his career in Millington where he continues to work for the U.S. Department of the Navy as a program manager for the Physical Readiness Office.

Très cool: Employees share French spirit with patient families during ‘Memphis en Mai’

BY SASHA STEINBERG

In her office, Martine Roussel, PhD, Tumor Cell Biology member, has a Memphis in May Children’s International Festival poster that she has cherished for nearly 35 years. Created by a former St. Jude patient, the poster features a colorful drawing of the Eiffel Tower, the renowned symbol of Roussel’s homeland, pictured among brightly colored flowers beneath the shining sun.

“In 1990, Memphis in May honored France as its featured country. I organized an opportunity for the kids of St. Jude to come draw or paint about Memphis in May and France. We had four or five tables set up next to the hospital cafeteria, and anybody could come paint or draw about what they thought France was. The drawings were spectacular. The one in my office of the dancing Eiffel Tower is adorable, and it made me think that maybe we could inspire the kids to do something again.”

When she learned France was this year’s featured country for Memphis in May, Roussel wanted to give the St. Jude family as a whole—and kids in particular—the opportunity to come together for a creative purpose.

“Kids are the most creative people that I know. What they draw is so delightful and beautiful. Nelson Lemieux in our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Office is very creative and had a lot of ideas of ways for us to host fun activities for the kids to do something artistic celebrating Memphis in May and France. I also wanted the French-speaking people here at St. Jude to get together as a community, and it was great to get a picture of us together with Dr. Downing,” Roussel said.

Through a collaboration between the Child Life Program and DEI, French-speaking St. Jude employees hosted “Memphis en Mai” events where patients and siblings could express their

creativity and learn about French culture. Hands-on activities included watercolor painting and paper guitar decorating.

To include both inpatient and outpatient families, the “Memphis en Mai” events were held in the Imagine Room in the Kay Research and Care Center and in Family Commons in the Patient Care Center.

“The purpose of these events was to connect France, the featured country for Memphis in May, to our mission here at St. Jude,” said Lemieux, who serves as DEI Program Manager - Insights and Intelligence. “In that spirit, our French-speaking employees provided a ‘Memphis en Mai’ opportunity for our patients to embrace French culture as a brief reprieve from their appointments and treatments.”

In addition to Roussel, volunteers included:

• Freeda Chehab

Regional Liaison – Global, Strategic Planning - Global Alliance

• Anais Clavien

Stipend Student, Developmental Neurobiology

French-speaking employees enjoyed the opportunity to share their spirit during a group photo with St. Jude President and CEO James R. Downing, MD, outside of the Marlo Thomas Center.

• Ali Flayhan

Senior Scientist, Structural Biology

• Paloma Guernalec

Stipend Student, Tumor Cell Biology

• Cyrine Haidar

Associate Member, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

• Elodie Henriet

Postdoctoral Research Associate, Oncology

• Laura Jamrog

Postdoctoral Research Associate, Hematology

• Sima Jeha

Director, Eastern Mediterranean Region, St. Jude Global

• Christophe Laumonnerie

Scientist, Developmental Neurobiology

• Maud Maillard

Postdoctoral Research Associate, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

• Audrey Mercier

Postdoctoral Research Associate, Tumor Cell Biology

• Jean-Yves Metais

Director, Laboratory Operations, Bone Marrow

Transplantation and Cellular Therapy

• Yoan Monneau

Lead Scientist, Structural Biology

• Julia Roche-Dupuy

Stipend Student, Chemical Biology and Therapeutics

• Ruilin Zhang

Stipend Student, Immunology

• Paul Testard

Stipend Student, Pathology

• Dana Tlais

Instructor, Oncology

• Helene Tournu

Senior Program Manager-Prizes and Awards, Academic and Biomedical Operations Office

• Tuyu Zheng

Postdoctoral Research Associate, Developmental Neurobiology

• Frederique Zindy

Scientist, Tumor Cell Biology