OHSU Knight Cancer Institute

02/06/2026

✨ Registration is now open! ✨
Join us on March 10 for the Symposium, in partnership with the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute: "The Power of Persistence — Women Transforming Cancer Research and Care."
Co-chaired by Lustgarten's Chief Medical Advisor Elizabeth Jaffee, MD and Lisa M. Coussens, MD, PhD, of OHSU, this inspiring event celebrates the impact of women driving innovation in cancer research and care.
Researchers, trainees, and guests will gather in Portland at OHSU to connect, be inspired, and continue pushing the boundaries of pancreatic cancer research. The Lustgarten community can register to join us online.💜🔬
👉 Register now: www.lustgarten.org/IWD

02/06/2026

: Sandra Youngworth DNP, APRN-BC, ANP, AOCNP, Early Therapeutics/Phase I Clinical Research Nurse practitioner and CHH2 OP HemOnc APP Manager

What is your favorite part about working in your field?

The patients, seeing the improvements in treatment options, and the research that we do.

What led you to the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute?

It is a University Medical Center, and we provide services that other practices can’t. University medical centers are renowned for their research, the exceptional quality of their providers, and the high standard of care they provide to patients.

What inspired you to become an APP, specializing in oncology?

I was a leukemia/bone marrow transplant nurse at the UW and knew I wanted to do more, which meant advancing my education. I have never imagined working outside of Oncology, regardless of the degrees I have.

What was your “Dream Job” as a kid?

I wanted to be a doctor or a lawyer.

What do you like to do for fun?

I travel and do photography; each New Year, I create a calendar and give it out as a New Year’s gift.

What is your favorite thing to do/eat/explore in Oregon?

Going to the mountains/beaches and finding new places in the area.

What is the best emoji to describe you? Or one you use often? ⁠

😉

02/05/2026

“You tell a patient they have a malignant disease, a blood-based cancer disease, and it's pretty scary. When you tell 'em they need a transplant procedure, it's one more.

Our job is to make them comfortable, understand that we can handle it, we can take care of them, and we can hopefully give them the ability to have a longer life and be cured.” — Dr. Richard Maziarz

On , get to know Dr. Maziarz, a hematologist-oncologist who treats patients with blood cancers and specializes in blood and marrow transplantation and immunotherapy, including CAR T-cell therapy:

01/30/2026

: Tanaya Shree, Assistant Professor of Medicine. I am a lymphoma physician-scientist focused on cancer immunology and immunotherapy.

What is your favorite part about working in your field?

As a physician-scientist who cares for patients and studies their disease, I can keep my research focused on clinically important questions. I love bringing patient stories to my research team, better understanding the impact their work has on patients, and working hard to improve cancer care.

What led you to ?

The focus on translational medicine and the leadership to make it happen. I am impressed by the lack of structural barriers between clinic- and lab-based research teams, and by the willingness of clinical trial staff, surgeons, proceduralists, and pathology colleagues to support projects.

What inspired you to become a physician-scientist specializing in lymphoma?

As soon as I had been exposed to both biomedical research and medicine, I was struck by how two fields with the same goal (improving human health) could have such different cultures and languages, and minimal interaction. Acquiring and then using the skills needed to bridge these gaps has been effective and rewarding.

Also, I get to take care of patients with a disease that may be highly aggressive or extremely indolent, and scientifically, because lymphomas arise from immune cells, and how this affects the rest of the immune system, and how it affects immunotherapy for lymphoma, fascinates me.

What was your “Dream Job” as a kid?

I do remember wanting to be a journalist, uncovering truths, which in many ways is what I am trying to do now in research.

What do you like to do for fun?

For most of my life, I have been an avid dancer, but currently, I spend more time on the sidelines of my kids’ soccer matches, riding my bike, cooking, or solving puzzles.

What is your favorite thing to do/eat/explore in Oregon?

I love the deep green and magical fairytale quality of Oregon forests - the coastal rainforests especially.

What is the best emoji to describe you? Or one you use often?

🤣 and 😅. I foresee more 🙄 and 🤦‍♀️ in my future as my preteens mature.

01/30/2026

“The goal is to develop population-level screening involving a simple eye drop and a quick scan.”

- Dr. Lei Wang on a new federally funded Alzheimer’s screening project that could improve outcomes in new treatments:

OHSU biomedical engineer and imaging scientist awarded federal funding for high-risk, high-reward project.

01/27/2026

Congratulations to Dr. Melissa Wong on receiving the Rood Family Endowed Professorship in Cancer Research.

Dr. Wong's research focuses on stem cell regulation in intestinal development, tissue regeneration and disease.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/4k04N2f

01/23/2026

01/23/2026

“The second I talked to Dr. Sood, it was just calm. I had someone with answers. I have this rare appendix cancer — how lucky am I that there’s this specialist 15 minutes from my house?”

- Matthew Ross, who created a documentary to chronicle his cancer journey, which included a specialized procedure to treat his appendix cancer, which had spread aggressively into other parts of his abdomen:

A week after being diagnosed with appendix cancer, filmmaker Matthew Ross began filming. His ensuing film documents how OHSU saved his life.

01/22/2026

"Exercise helps you tolerate cancer treatment better. If you experience less side effects, you are more likely to complete treatment, which leads to better outcomes."

- Dr. Kerri Winters-Stone on whether exercise is "a new breast cancer drug" (via WebMD):

Learn how exercise may help lower the chances of your breast cancer returning.

01/16/2026

Meet OHSU’s Dr. Ronald Ng

“When I meet with someone for the first time, we talk about their cancer, their disease, but we also talk about them, and what may be important to them.

It's important because what's important to everyone is different. The most gratifying part of my job is knowing that I was able to help someone and make a difference, no matter how small it may be.” - Dr. Ronald Ng

Get to know Dr. Ng, a medical oncologist who treats patients with prostate cancer, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, and other cancers of the genitourinary system:

01/13/2026