Date Posted
The NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) selected Judith Hopkins, M.D., and Kristina Gardner, M.H.A. as recipients of this year’s outstanding principal investigator (PI) and administrator, respectively, at the 2024 NCORP annual meeting in Bethesda, Maryland. NCI’s Marge Good, RN, M.P.H., received an NCORP Special Appreciation Award.
Dr. Hopkins, PI of the Southeast Clinical Oncology Research Consortium (SCOR) was awarded the Harry Hynes Award for Outstanding Contributions to Clinical Trials and Community Research for her commitment to outreach and bringing oncology care and clinical trials to communities in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The Harry Hynes award is given in honor of Dr. Hynes who established the Wichita Hematology Oncology Group, now known as the Cancer Center of Kansas, and was the founding Principal Investigator of the Wichita Community Clinical Oncology Program (CCOP). When Dr. Hynes was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in 2000, he looked within the NCI CCOP and became a clinical trial participant himself.
For more than 30 years, Dr. Hopkins has been an oncology provider and champion of community-based cancer research through her involvement as co-principal investigator of the Southeast Cancer Control Consortium, now called SCOR.
In support of her nomination, Glenn Lesser, M.D., PI of the Wake Forest NCORP Research Base, said, “I can think of no more deserving a recipient for this award than Judy who has not only “talked the talk” regarding the importance of clinical trials for all patients with cancer, but has “walked the walk” through her steadfast support and outstanding accrual to NCI-sponsored treatment and, especially, cancer control and cancer care delivery studies throughout her three decades as a very, very busy community-based oncologist.”
Ms. Gardner, director of the Cancer Research for the Ozarks NCORP, received the Dorothy Coleman Outstanding NCORP Administrator Award, for her exemplary leadership and commitment in managing the Ozark NCORP over the last six years and growing the program across Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. The Dorothy Coleman Award is given in honor of Ms. Coleman, research nurse coordinator and clinical trials office manager at the University of Hawai’i Cancer Center, and long-time cancer research advocate.
“She is the epitome of NCORP leaders, and we are so proud that she leads our team,” said Jay Carlson, D.O., PI of the Ozarks NCORP. “We would not be where we are today without her talents and leadership.”
NCI Nurse Consultant and NCORP Program Officer, Ms. Good, received a Special Appreciation Award in recognition of her career-long contributions and dedication to community oncology research and oncology nursing.
Ms. Good was a community oncology nurse and an administrator for more than 20 years with NCORP’s predecessor, CCOP, before she came to NCI to centrally support the NCORP program in the Division of Cancer Prevention (DCP).
Her leadership has spanned many efforts, including mentoring new sites, evaluating accrual strategies, NCI coverage analysis, and modification of NCI policies to increase engagement of Advance Practice Providers (APPs) in clinical trials. A 30-year member of the Oncology Nursing Society, Ms. Good has held various leadership roles and has actively contributed to working groups within the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
“Marge’s commitment and unwavering dedication have profoundly influenced community oncology research,” said Leslie Ford, M.D., associate director for clinical research in DCP. “NCORP would not be the same without her contributions.”