Connecting Impact with Generous Support: Researcher and Donor Share a Passion for Access to Care

A special opportunity to connect a researcher with one of their supporting donors presented itself during an NCCN Foundation Board meeting at National Comprehensive Cancer Network^® (NCCN^®) Headquarters in Plymouth Meeting, PA.

Dr. Zachary Frosch is a 2022 Young Investigator Award recipient, conducting his research at Fox Chase Cancer Center. The relative proximity of NCCN HQ and Fox Chase Cancer Center afforded the opportunity for Dr. Frosch to share his research project with the NCCN Foundation Board. NCCN Foundation Board Member Marc Samuel’s gift through ADVI (highlighted in the February newsletter article The Inspiration for a 5-Figure Gift Supporting Research), partially supported the funding that makes Dr. Frosch’s research possible.

Dr. Frosch shared his research project “Developing Patient-Centered Strategies to Improve Equitable Access to Cellular Therapies” with the NCCN Foundation Board this month. Cellular therapies utilize a patient’s immune system to fight their cancer. Dr. Frosch shared that his career and work have been focused on “deliver(ing) care so that each patient gets access to the right care, in the right setting, at the right time in a way that is equitable for all patients.” His research project will last two years and aims to increase the understanding of structural barriers and lack of equal access to novel therapies.

As Marc Samuels shared in February, “Health equity looks at the questions of transportation and food deserts, medical care available in the city vs. rural areas, differences in access to and delivery of care based on gender and race, and so much more. Cell therapies are a great bellwether for research as care is delivered in qualified centers and patient access and care pathways are paramount to clinical success.”

NCCN Foundation is grateful to Marc Samuels and Dr. Frosch for their individual passions that combine for greater impact. Generous support of high-quality science can advance oncology innovation to improve the lives of cancer patients. NCCN Foundation is grateful to everyone supporting our important mission. Together our passions can improve the lives of more people with cancer and their caregivers, while providing quality, effective, equitable and accessible cancer care.

Dr. Zachary Frosch and Marc Samuels at NCCN Headquarters