November 3, 2003
New Strategic Plan puts accent on collaboration, sets goal of conquering major forms of cancer in 10 years
Agreeing that science is primed for a decisive advance against cancer, Dana-Farber's Board of Trustees last week approved a Strategic Plan that sets the Institute on a course to conquer major forms of the disease within a decade.
Edward J. Benz Jr., MD
The plan, which will serve as a road map of the Institute's direction for the next five years, reflects a sense that now is the time to build on the collaborations already established between DFCI scientists and caregivers and colleagues at other institutions. By speeding the process by which research breakthroughs are adapted for patients' benefit, such interactions have created a moment of unique scientific opportunity, the plan's authors state.
"We want collaboration to be integral to the way we do our work," says DFCI President Edward J. Benz Jr., MD, who spearheaded the planning process. "There's an incredible amount of creative energy that emerges when the best minds come together to work on problems. In the field of cancer, the leaders will be those who can harness that energy for the development of new therapies, diagnostic techniques, and cancer-prevention strategies."
Although the plan anticipates that Dana-Farber will grow in the coming years, it is not primarily a blueprint for becoming larger, but for becoming more interconnected, Benz remarks.
"At the heart of the plan is our long-standing commitment to the unique quality and 'look and feel' of our clinical care, of the patient- and family-centeredness of it," he comments. "We are committed to preserving the qualitative aspects of our care, even if that means that clinical growth moves more slowly.
"Most strategic plans focus on growing the market share," Benz adds. "The clinical part of our strategic plan focuses on growing its quality, including the support services patients need."
Model cancer center
By making teamwork a priority and building on existing capabilities in
research and clinical care, Benz says, the Institute intends to become
a "model cancer center" - an example of how other such
facilities can structure and organize themselves for maximum impact on
the disease. The plan, which took shape during months of discussions
among Institute leaders, staff, patients, and family members, was
formally adopted by the DFCI Board of Trustees on Oct. 21.
"Our goal of conquering major forms of cancer within a decade is bold and carries a high level of expectations for DFCI," the plan states. "But it is in keeping with our mission of having Impact, of making a difference for cancer patients and their loved ones."
It is too early to specify which forms of the disease will be targeted under the plan, but the explosion of knowledge about cancer's genetic underpinnings and the accelerating pace of research make it an attainable objective.
Taking the initiative
The plan envisions efforts in four major areas:
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Discovery: The Institute plans to make specific investments in science programs such as Cancer Systems Biology, which explores cancer cells' interactions with the rest of the body; Chemistry; Computational Biology, which constructs electronic simulations of life processes; Imaging; and Population Sciences. It will also continue to strengthen its existing programs in disease-oriented basic research.
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Scott Armstrong, MD, PhD, with young patient
Patient Care: DFCI will intensify efforts to create a seamless system of care with its main clinical partners, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Children's Hospital Boston. It has already formed a planning committee with BWH to build a clinical service that will be a national model for the treatment of adults with cancer. The Institute pledges to preserve and enhance the quality of its clinical services, including the involvement of patients and families in clinical operations. Patient safety will be an even sharper area of focus. The Center for Patient Safety was created while the plan was being designed, but it will be greatly enhanced under the plan. The Institute also intends to expand its facilities to serve more patients, expand efforts to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in cancer care, and to continue setting national patient safety benchmarks.
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Application: Building on its tradition of bench-to-bedside research, the Institute will develop a Center for Clinical and Translational Research that includes a clinical-research center, a specimen-tracking lab, and a facility for testing novel preventive, diagnostic, and treatment techniques in patients. Also planned is a resource center to support investigators and a training program to develop a new generation of clinical and translational scientists. DFCI will build on its strengths to develop a human cancer vaccine program, a Joint Center for Experimental Pathology, and a Center for Applied Cancer Science.
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Focus: Together, these initiatives - and a commitment to build connections between them - will establish Dana-Farber as a model cancer center. As part of that effort, DFCI will devise organizational models for an interactive, collaborative environment, as well as novel pathways for career development. It will also refine its administrative structure in line with the plan's goals.
More space needed
Putting the plan's individual initiatives into effect will require
adding about 100,000 square feet of research, clinical, and
administrative space in the next five years. Of that amount, only
about 10,000 square feet are currently in hand. The Institute expects
to lease substantial amounts of space off-campus in anticipation of
construction of a new building.
The plan's research initiatives will require a further investment of more than $100 million over five years. Additional investments in the clinical area are estimated at between $50 and $60 million, figures that will become clearer as discussions with DFCI's clinical partners proceed.
The plan has received a high level of support from the Institute's Board of Trustees, says Trustee Bill Poutsiaka, who served on a subcommittee that helped formulate it.
"The timing of the plan is excellent," he says. "Despite all the progress that has been made against cancer, the hardships it places on patients and their families remain unacceptable. Because Dana-Farber has such a high quality of research and patient care, and because of its emphasis on applied science, it is in a position to have a dramatic impact on cancer right now."
Grace Kao, MD, and Jerome Ritz, MD
An auspicious moment
The plan grew out of a conviction by Benz and others that the time is
ripe for a definitive assault on cancer, and that Dana-Farber is
well-suited to lead Harvard's effort. The molecular understanding of
cells - aided immeasurably by the completed map of the human genome -
has reached a point where scientists are becoming able to target
specific weaknesses in cancer cells without harming normal ones or
losing potency over time (the Achilles' heel of conventional
therapies). The spark for converting this knowledge into effective new
treatments and prevention and diagnostic techniques is the kind of
collegial work the Strategic Plan sees as Dana-Farber's hallmark in
the years ahead.
In adopting the plan, the Institute begins from a position of unique strength, Benz asserts. "Some of the most important advances against cancer in the past 50 years have originated at Dana-Farber," he states. "The Institute has an exceptionally talented corps of researchers, clinicians, and staff. Its standard of care, and its commitment to involving patients and families in efforts to improve that care, are second to none."
As an institution focused entirely on cancer and related diseases, Dana-Farber can bring a commitment and intensity of purpose not easily matched by other organizations, according to the plan. "And, as the hub institution of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center [DF/HCC], we can help rally the world's premier assemblage of scientific and clinical expertise in cancer.
"DFCI is a magnet for talented people - whether they're researchers, patient-care specialists, support staff, volunteers, donors, or trustees - who want to make a difference against this disease," the president says. "At the same time, we are small and nimble enough to take advantage of new fields of inquiry and to examine our internal systems and make them better."
The theme of collaboration carries into Dana-Farber's partnerships with other institutions: the DF/HCC research consortium, Dana-Farber/Partners CancerCare for adult care (which includes Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital), the longtime affiliation with Children's Hospital Boston for pediatric care, joint programs with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Whitehead and Broad institutes, and with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies around the world.
"We want to create an environment," says Benz, "where serendipitous discoveries become routine, where insights spark new ideas in people working in related fields."
