Dr. Friedman delivers Duke update

The recruitment of Dr. Batra has proved critical to the success of our brain tumor program as well as to the strength of our collaborations. Through an intensive, three-year long recruitment process, Dr. Batra emerged at the top of a very limited pool of candidates nationally who possess the in-depth scientific skills, clinical training, and dedication required of a scientist seeking to understand the full complexity of aggressive brain tumors.

Our patients desperately need effective new treatments for brain tumors. To this end, Dr. Batra’s original research, which focused on manipulating the p38 pathway to make even the most aggressive tumors more responsive to much less toxic therapies like retinoids, will have enormous impact on the care of brain tumors and patient outcomes.

As much as Dr. Batra brings enormous scientific strength to our research agenda, he likewise brings a valuable new perspective to our clinical care team. Indeed, it is the days that we spend in the clinic with patients that I am able to witness his considerable kindness, which has made an enormous impression on how our entire team approaches the way we care for brain tumor patients today.

Dr. Batra clearly stands in the top few percent of brain tumor researchers in our field today actively engaged in research that will change the way we all care for cancer patients. There perhaps is no greater thrill for me than to be able to mentor someone who is so quick to learn and yet has so much to teach. I am exceedingly proud to call Sandeep my colleague and friend.