News and Noteworthy

James Mulé, IPh.D., Named National Academy of Inventors Fellow

The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) announced James Mulé, IPh.D., as part of its 2023 Class of Fellows. Election as an Academy Fellow is the highest professional distinction awarded solely to inventors. The 2023 class of Fellows, comprised of 162 academic inventors, showcases individuals making significant contributions to science and society through their work. The 2023 class of Fellows will be honored and presented their medals at the NAI 13th Annual Meeting on June 18, 2024, in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Conor Lynch, Ph.D. Named Chair of Moffitt’s Department of Tumor Microenvironment & Metastasis Department

Oct. 23, 2023 – Moffitt Cancer Center has named Conor Lynch, Ph.D., chair of its Department of Tumor Microenvironment & Metastasis. Formerly known as Tumor Biology, the newly named department will focus on understanding the molecular cellular mechanisms driving cancer progression and metastasis with an emphasis on metastatic microenvironment contribution to cancer dormancy, evolution and heterogeneity, and therapy resistance.

Lynch joined Moffitt in 2011 from Vanderbilt University, where he was the co-director of research in the Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation. His research program focuses on understanding how the bone stroma controls the outgrowth and therapeutic response of skeletal malignancies such as bone metastatic prostate cancer and multiple myeloma.  His work has been published in several high impact journals, including Cancer Cell, Nature Communications and Science Advances.

Moffitt Names Jeremy Goecks, Ph.D., Assistant Center Director of Research Informatics

Oct. 23, 2023 – Moffitt Cancer Center announced Jeremy Goecks, Ph.D., as its Assistant Center Director of Research Informatics. In this role, Goecks will lead adoption of innovative technology platforms and computing standards within the data-related core services, as well as transition research innovations to clinical applications through the Center of Digital Health. He will also build new datasets to power data science at Moffitt by leveraging both internal resources and external data sharing partnerships. He will continue to advance his data science research through faculty appointments in the Biostatistics & Bioinformatics and Machine Learning departments.

Goecks came to Moffitt from the Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University, where he was an Associate Professor and Section Head for Cancer Data Science. He has two broad and complementary research interests. First, he develops computational infrastructure and machine learning approaches for large-scale biomedical data science. Second, he uses data science methods to advance precision oncology through the analysis of complex and high-dimensional datasets to predict tumor response to treatment and understand adaptive therapeutic resistance.

Moffitt Appoints Tiffany Carson, Ph.D., MPH, Co-Leader of Health Outcomes & Behavior Program

Oct. 20, 2023 – Moffitt Cancer Center announced Tiffany Carson, Ph.D., MPH, is the new co-leader of the Health Outcomes & Behavior Program. The goal of the program is to improve cancer outcomes by better understanding individuals, health care systems and communities. This includes developing interventions to assist with cancer prevention and survivorship.  

Carson came to Moffitt in 2021 from University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Division of Preventive Medicine. Her work focuses on cancer prevention and reduction of racial disparities in obesity and cancer, primarily by helping individuals achieve a healthy weight. Using a biobehavioral model, Carson’s research examines how social, behavioral and biological factors intersect to influence health outcomes. 

Vani Simmons, Ph.D. Named Assistant Center Director of Moffitt’s Office of Community Outreach, Engagement and Equity

Oct. 20, 2023 – Moffitt Cancer Center has appointed Vani Simmons, Ph.D., as assistant center director of the Office of Community Outreach, Engagement and Equity. This office works to uphold the cancer center’s commitment to maximize the impact of its research and outreach through bidirectional exchange of information and ideas between Moffitt leaders, researchers, physicians and team members with community stakeholders. Working with Associate Center Director Susan T. Vadaparampil, Ph.D., Simmons will help improve engagement strategies and health equity for Moffitt’s 23 county catchment area and beyond. Simmons will utilize her expertise in developing a comprehensive strategy to address the burden of smoking related cancers in the community served by Moffitt.  

Simmons joined Moffitt faculty in 2008. Her research focuses on reducing health disparities by developing and validating innovative, participant-centered smoking cessation interventions. Her studies have included populations at high risk for tobacco-related disparities yet are underrepresented in research. Simmons was recently awarded the American Society of Preventive Oncology’s Joseph W. Cullen Memorial Award, a distinction given to those leading the charge to continue national tobacco control efforts through research and collaboration. She was also inducted as a Society for Research on Nicotine & Tobacco Fellow earlier this year.  

Moffitt Researcher Named Society for Research on Nicotine & Tobacco Fellow

Feb. 2, 2023 – Vani Simmons, Ph.D., co-director of Moffitt Cancer Center’s Tobacco Research and Intervention Program, has been selected as Fellow of the Society for Research on Nicotine & Tobacco (SRNT). The status of Fellow is a distinction conferred by the Society on members in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of nicotine and tobacco research, and of service to SRNT.

Simmons joined Moffitt in 2008. Her research focuses on reducing health disparities by developing and validating innovative, participant-centered smoking cessation interventions.