January 2, 2025 • 37 mins
In this episode of Inside Cancer Careers, we hear from Dr. LeeAnn Bailey, branch director of the Community Outreach, Research, and Engagement Branch in the Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities at NCI and head of the NCI’s new Early Onset Cancer Initiative. The initiative focuses on understanding and addressing the rising incidence of cancers diagnosed in individuals aged 18 to 49.
The conversation explores the complexities of early onset cancers, the importance of patient voices in research, and the need for public awareness and tailored screening guidelines. Dr. Bailey emphasizes the significance of addressing health disparities and the initiative's future aspirations to improve survivorship outcomes. Additionally, she shares her personal journey into cancer research and offers valuable advice for aspiring scientists.
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LeeAnn Bailey, Ph.D. (leeann.bailey@nih.gov)
Community Outreach, Research, and Engagement Branch (CORE)
NCI Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD)
NCI Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network (CISNET)
NCI National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN)
NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP)
NCI Cancer Data Research Commons (CDRC)
Connecting Underserved Populations to Clinical Trials (CUSP2CT)
Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
OLIVER BOGLER (00:04):
Hello and welcome to Inside Cancer Careers, a podcast from the National Cancer
Institute where we explore all the different ways people fight cancer and we hear their stories.
I'm your host, Oliver Bogler from NCI's Center for Cancer Training.
Today we're talking with Dr. LeeAnn Bailey, branch director of the Community Outreach Research and
(00:25):
Engagement branch in the Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities at NCI, and head of the brand
new Early Onset Cancer Initiative for the NCI.Listen through to the end of the show to hear
our guests make an interesting recommendation and where we invite you to take your turn. And
of course, we're always glad to hear your feedback on what you hear and suggestions
(00:46):
on what you might like us to cover. The show's email is NCIICC@nih.gov.
Welcome, Dr. Bailey. Welcome, LeeAnn.
LEEANN BAILEY (00:55):
Hello, hello,
thank you so much. Really excited about this opportunity and conversation.
OLIVER BOGLER (01:01):
Thank you. I'd like to start with your newest role, leading the NCI's Early Onset
Cancer Initiative. Can you just define for us as a starting point, what is early onset cancer?
LEEANN BAILEY (01:12):
Absolutely. So early onset cancer is defined as cancers diagnosed in patients from
the ages of 18 to 49 years old. And they're typically diagnosed in older adults, but in
this instance, it's for earlier cohorts. And this is in contrast with AYA, or cancer in adolescents
(01:32):
and young adults, which include pediatric cancers that are diagnosed in young adults.
We're still working to understand all the trends in early onset cancers,
but we know that certain cancers have significantly increased in
frequency over the past decade. Examples are colorectal cancer.
OLIVER BOGLER (01:50):
So that presumably is what prompted the NCI to form an initiative around this topic.
LEEANN BAILEY (01:55):
Yes, although I would add that NCI has been tracking EOC
or early onset cancer for over 10 years. And what's been observed is a steady
and significant spike in cancers that are typically found in older adults occurring in
young people with seemingly no family history or co-morbidities. So over the past decade,
(02:16):
NCI has supported over 30 intramural and 25 extramural early onset cancer projects
under our purview. And the majority of the NCI designated cancer centers have also dedicated
many efforts to this disease as well.So there are other institutes and
organizations who have been tracking and trying to better understand and respond, but due to the
(02:41):
complex nature and time constraints, there's really a big need to accelerate scientific
discovery. Our goal is to reduce early onset cancer incidents and improve survivorship.
OLIVER BOGLER (02:54):
Right, right. So I get it. It's kind of a big gnarly problem. The NCI
is well positioned to tackle it. I want to just drill down a little bit on the
demographic. is it like a 10-year shift in earlier onset or what kind of a shift are
you seeing? And is that sort of the same for all the different cancers involved?
LEEANN BAILEY (03:15):
So we see different trends in different cancers and in different populations. So
for example, we are seeing an increased incidence of specific types of aggressive breast cancers,
such as triple negative breast cancer in Black women. However, we're also seeing that those
with Hispanic heritage are most likely to be diagnosed with early onset gastric cancer.
OLIVER BOGLER (03:37):
This effort has just started. I've seen it written about
as it being in the nascent phase. Help us understand what it takes
to establish such a big effort at an institution like the NCI.
LEEANN BAILEY (03:52):
Right. So I was asked by our director, Dr. Kim Rathmell, to lead
this initiative for NCI. And it involves a lot of coordination. And it's not just with our agency's
leadership, but with program experts across the entire Institute. External partners are really key
to this initiative, and also patients, providers, and caregivers, because they are actively involved
(04:15):
and provide critical insight and perspective.Ensuring that we're communicating effectively
and reaching out to the appropriate groups continues to be an evolving
but welcome challenge. We want to ensure that everyone has a voice at the table. And
as anyone new to NCI will tell you, NCI is a big place. We have brilliant scientists with a variety
(04:37):
of different expertise areas working on every aspect of cancer research that you can imagine.
So learning about the opportunities across the entire institute and figuring out where we
can focus or leverage programs to build up EOC efforts has really been an exciting challenge.
OLIVER BOGLER (04:54):
I'm glad it's exciting because it seems difficult. So
I'm sure in this work, it's important to include the voice of the patient and the caregivers. And
I'm wondering whether that's part of the vision of this work that you're doing.
LEEANN BAILEY (05:10):
Yeah, absolutely. Keeping patients and caregivers at the center of
the initiative is really a top priority for us. Our first major meeting for the
initiative is actually going to be a listening session with patients,
representing all of the cancer types that we're looking to target in this first phase. And we
want to make sure that all of our program leaders who will be contributing to the initiative really
(05:32):
understand what patients' primary concerns are so that we can be responsive to those needs.
NCI has several established relationships with patient and advocacy groups, and we are enlisting
and querying as many as we can to really bring their perspectives and ideas to this effort.
OLIVER BOGLER (05:51):
So I want to sort of talk a little
bit about the biology or the clinical picture. I was wondering whether any
underlying factors are already emerging. You mentioned some ongoing research projects. Do
we have a feeling for what's going on? Are these environmental influences? Do we know?
LEEANN BAILEY (06:12):
So we don't know all of the reasons that we are seeing these trends, but we suspect
that there is some environmental exposure or a combination of exposures even that's contributing
to the increased incidence. It might be something in the food we eat or how people are sleeping and
exercising less than they used to. We also know that there's a substantial amount of heterogeneity
(06:35):
in these cancers in the tumor burden, which means that we're really seeing a lot of differences in
the tumors that the patients are developing. So it may be that different risk factors and
a variety of combinations of environmental and genetic risk factors are playing a role here.
And we do see this shift in certain cancers more than in others. So there's a lot of work
(06:57):
to be done, but for the first phase of the initiative, we're going to be
focused on a subset of cancers that appear to be associated with higher body mass, if you will:
colorectal cancer, pancreatic, endometrial, liver, gallbladder, gastric, and multiple myeloma. And
we're also focusing on kidney cancer and premenopausal breast cancer, because we
(07:19):
do understand that metabolic dysregulation plays a key role in each of these cancers.
OLIVER BOGLER (07:25):
Yeah, but that's quite a list. That's a big field, if you will. And so I wonder
within that, because it's such a big field, you probably have to do some picking and choosing of
what to think about or what to address. I wonder if there are some particularly sort of promising
(07:46):
areas of research that you're focused on, maybe in prevention or early detection or related areas.
LEEANN BAILEY (07:54):
So in thinking about this in terms of public health, we really want to be able to
identify which patients are at the most risk of developing early onset cancers and determine
when and how they should be screened. So NCI does a lot of work in developing the evidence
that's in use to inform cancer screening guidelines through programs like CISNET,
(08:15):
the Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network. A consortium that uses
simulation modeling to improve our understanding of cancer control interventions in prevention,
screening, and treatment, and their effects on the population trends
and incidence and mortality. We are also very interested in the tumor biology and
(08:36):
the factors that drive perhaps these cancers in different populations in different ways.
OLIVER BOGLER (08:44):
Interesting. Yeah. So there's a lot of basic science that needs to be done,
but at the same time, we need to keep an eye on what's going on at
the population level. Yeah. That, makes it challenging. Part of this is also awareness,
right? You've already addressed, you know, BMI and exercise levels and other things that are,
I'm going to say, you know, at least have a public awareness component,
(09:06):
right? In terms of trying to tackle them.So what is the vision for this early onset
initiative that you're leading in terms of how do we bring in or how do we raise
awareness amongst the general public and also healthcare providers about this topic?
LEEANN BAILEY (09:20):
Yeah, absolutely. That's a great question. And we really think about
NCI-supported research that's led to updates in the US Preventative
Services Task Force screening guidelines for both breast and colorectal cancer,
which lower the age for people to start screening. We want to continue to do this
type of population-based screening research to identify when we need to start screening for
(09:43):
cancers without causing harm to patients through unnecessary medical procedures.
So every medical breakthrough really has its foundation in basic science. And I feel that
investigators are learning more and more every day about how cancer develops and spreads.
And these insights give us new ideas about therapies to prevent and treat.
(10:05):
So for example, decades of research into mutations in the RAS family of genes,
some of which occur with really high frequency in early onset colorectal cancer have led to recent
FDA approvals of KRAS inhibitors. And just this past June, the FDA did grant accelerated approval
to one of these drugs for advanced CRC. So, although we have a mandate and definitely
(10:32):
a commitment to informing, we also are going be looking to our federal partners at agencies like
CDC, HRQ, and CMS to help us get the word out.And one goal of the initiative is specifically
to work with professional societies to develop guidelines for primary care providers of how to
work with patients concerning red flags symptoms, if you will. So for example,
(10:57):
what types of screening and tests should you consider for a patient in her twenties who
presents to her family doctor with abdominal pain and rectal bleeding? Having guidelines
like this will help patients get diagnosed sooner and also may make their disease easier to treat.
OLIVER BOGLER (11:14):
Yeah, I mean, you've raised several things there that I
think are really important and interesting. So I'm going to do them backwards. the last
thing you said made me think that there's probably a lot of unevenness in how this is
happening in our country, right? The early onset shift may not be happening
(11:34):
equally in all populations, right? By geography, by socio-economic status,
health care access and things like that. Is that... do you anticipate that?
LEEANN BAILEY (11:44):
We absolutely do. We're very interested in the demographics in different
populations as well as rurality and the social determinants of health as you just alluded to.
Examining disparities is critically important. Looking at these racial and ethnic groups along
with the others that I've just mentioned is critical for improving not only the standard
(12:04):
of care, but also for developing new therapies that are tailored for reducing cancer health
disparities. And this appears to be of substantial importance in cancers like CRC, for example.
OLIVER BOGLER (12:17):
Yeah, yeah. And you mentioned the KRAS initiative, which I think is a really
a shining example of a long endurance, basic science investment, right? That initially,
you know, lot of people when KRAS was first identified were, we, you know, we, this is going
to lead to major breakthroughs and then many years of disappointment, but NCI stuck with it. And now
(12:39):
it's, it's, it's yielding results in terms of FDA approved therapies, as you mentioned, which might
feedback positively into this. So I guess another challenge in the Early Onset Cancer Initiative is
to keep an eye on all these different things that are going on and see if they can be pulled in.
LEEANN BAILEY (12:57):
Yeah, I think that's a really important point
in that we really do need to have that continuity as you mentioned,
right? Not only through individual investigations, through, you know, R01s, but also through larger
programs. By thinking creatively and really plugging into the fantastic work that's
already underway, I really see opportunities to strengthen that for many of the activities.
(13:23):
And then the other piece that I guess I'd like to mention is with regard to
a few of the programs that we have that I'd like to highlight, the clinical trials infrastructure
provides a great platform as well, specifically the National Clinical Trials Network and the NCI
Community Oncology Research Program. And ensuring that they're set up to include early onset cancer
(13:47):
patients where it's applicable from a scientific perspective is definitely a place where we could
leverage existing infrastructure, and programs.So examining and identifying what biospecimens
and genomic data we already have in our repositories is also a critical component.
So perhaps leveraging these biospecimens that are collected through the NCI-supported trials
(14:12):
and the Cancer Data Research Commons can encourage investigators to be more collaborative and come
up with some of these amazing breakthroughs.So one of the questions is, how do we enhance
the collection and the sharing of data amongst our investigators?
OLIVER BOGLER (14:29):
Yep. Yep. It almost seems to me like you're taking a fresh lens,
the early onset lens, if you will, and looking at some of the things that exist
already that have already been invested in and seeing if they can be relevant in your work.
LEEANN BAILEY (14:41):
Yeah, absolutely. We are committed in every capacity to really ensuring that we
are bringing all of our efforts to bear and not creating silos, rather breaking them down. As I
mentioned, we have investigators in very diverse, multidisciplinary settings that are all coming
(15:02):
together to really, if you will, re-examine where we can make strides as a community in this effort.
OLIVER BOGLER (15:09):
So you're just getting going with this very exciting and important project. What
are your hopes for the future? If I could entice you to project maybe a couple of
years or several years down the road, where do you hope that this initiative will be?
LEEANN BAILEY (15:24):
Absolutely. So it is an effort that's in its early stages. But when we ask
patients to share their experiences with early onset cancers, they kept coming back to wanting
to be present, to do the good things happening in their lives. So they wanted to be thinking
about their careers, planning their weddings, taking their kids to basketball practice,
(15:48):
if you will, not dealing with the side effects of cancer treatment or worrying about dying.
So if we can alleviate some of the stress and anxiety that early onset patients have to deal
with, we haven't even really touched upon financial toxicity and all the challenges
associated with that. In some instances, this generation is also taking care of elderly
(16:11):
parents that might have a cancer diagnosis of their own. So having more insight and enabling
better survivorship outcomes is absolutely a goal, both short term as well as long term.
And then the other point that I really wanted to make sure that I touch upon with regard to
that is there's substantial value in having clinicians and scientists intentionally
(16:34):
study this group. So studying EOC really allows researchers to understand the unique biological
mechanisms behind cancers developing at a younger age, potentially leading to the
development of better prevention strategies, earlier detection methods, and tailored
treatment options specifically for young parents while also highlighting the need for targeted
(16:59):
support both for the social and psychological impacts of a cancer diagnosis at a younger age.
In the words of Dr. Rathmell, “what you pay attention to grows”. So ultimately,
what we'd really like to be able to learn is how do we prevent these cancers? And for
those that we can't prevent, I really hope that we improve early diagnosis and find
(17:22):
effective less toxic treatments that really enable patients to get back to living their
lives. The ultimate goal of this is really to see patients thrive, not merely survive.
OLIVER BOGLER (17:33):
Yeah, that's so important. I mean … I'm so excited for this work to
happen and have its impact. I'm a 12-year cancer survivor myself,
and I like to think of myself as thriving, and I wish it for all
people who are diagnosed, particularly those who are diagnosed so early in their lives.
LEEANN BAILEY (17:50):
Absolutely. I hope that the message really resonates because I don't
know of very many people who haven't either been personally affected by cancer or have
it be a great factor for those that they love and care for. So involved in that, you know,
in addition to patients are also the caregivers. I think that's a really great point, you know,
(18:13):
family and friends as well as providers. And there are a lot of people who play a role in
patient care. So very pleased to treat this in ways that perhaps weren't conceived 12 years ago,
to enable that. And so pleased to hear of your status.
OLIVER BOGLER (18:34):
Thank you. So if people want to follow along with this exciting work,
I'm guessing there's going to be an NCI website focused on it that they can track.
LEEANN BAILEY (18:42):
Yes, I think at this point, we're still trying to figure out what's the
best and most effective way to communicate. So right now, I am the one stop shop and
happy to engage and have conversation and collaboration because I really do believe
that everyone has a voice that's critically important to contribute to this initiative.
OLIVER BOGLER (19:02):
Okay, we'll put that contact info in the show notes. Well,
I certainly wish you nothing but tremendous success with this work.
LEEANN BAILEY (19:10):
Thank you so much.
OLIVER BOGLER (19:12):
OK, we're going to take a quick break. And when we come back,
we're going to talk about Dr. Bailey's career and learn how she got to be where she is today.
[music]
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(19:32):
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(19:57):
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(20:25):
Keep up with new and innovative research in global oncology
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Find more information about the Global Cancer Research and Control Seminar Series,
(20:49):
new funding opportunities, cancer control resources, and more on the NCI Center for Global
Health website cancer.gov/globalhealth. That is cancer.gov/globalhealth.
[music ends]
OK, and we're back. My favorite question as always, LeeAnn,
is what first sparked your interest in science?
LEEANN BAILEY (21:13):
So I am a native of Missouri and a farm girl. And my father grew up on a farm and
we were completely immersed in all aspects of biology. And so I was always fascinated to see
how it is nature happened, to pick that apart, so on and so forth. And so I was
(21:35):
always the one who was eager to put two things together to see what would happen,
right? The cause and effect and the ability to influence that or not influence that. And
so that translated to that same curiosity when I began attending regular public school. And I had
(21:55):
some fantastic elementary school teachers that really indulged and encouraged our curiosity.
And so once I had a few experiments underneath my belt, baking soda and vinegar, it was all over.
OLIVER BOGLER (22:12):
Fantastic. And so help us understand the path from
these early experiences to your work in cancer research. How did you become focused on cancer?
LEEANN BAILEY (22:21):
So unfortunately, our family is disproportionately affected by cancer incidence.
All of the women on my paternal side have passed away of cancer
at very early ages. An aunt who passed at 42, both of my great grandmothers,
as well as my grandmothers. And so wanting to be able to make a change,
(22:45):
make a difference and help them not only navigate the healthcare system, but also specifically
focused in on cancer was something that was near and dear to my heart and continues to be.
OLIVER BOGLER (22:57):
So you really started on the basic research end of things,
right? You did a degree in biochemistry, if I remember correctly.
LEEANN BAILEY (23:04):
Correct.
OLIVER BOGLER (23:05):
And tell us more about that.
LEEANN BAILEY (23:09):
So it's a bit of a funny story. So again, I have a Doris background as well. I
attended Millikan University in Decatur, Illinois, and I was a vocal performance
major as well as a biochemistry major. Right. And so the combination of those two things
really, I think, demonstrated to me that you could apply your talents in many different ways. Right.
(23:35):
And so with regard to biochemistry, that led to a curiosity about how biological systems
relate to one another. I was never really interested in a single gene or a protein,
but really how the system worked. So what factors, you know, influenced a certain path? Could you
redirect them? Could you ameliorate them? What could you really do? And so I remember having the
(24:01):
love of chasing electrons with Diels-Alder, you know, reactions. That was my jam in those days.
OLIVER BOGLER (24:09):
Interesting, interesting. Your interests have evolved though,
right? You're now your role, your day job before the Early Onset Cancer Initiative is
to lead a branch that in the Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities - the
Community Outreach Research and Engagement Branch, right? So that sounds like,
doesn't sound like biochemistry to me. So help us understand the evolution of your interests.
LEEANN BAILEY (24:34):
Yeah, absolutely. So during my training, I discovered that there needed
to really be a translation. There needs to be a communication or dissemination specifically
to the populations that needed it most. So communicating that to providers and then to the
lay community as well as to the larger scientific community really became a passion for me.
(24:59):
So in our branch, we have a focus on underrepresented and underserved
populations because in many communities, there are challenges associated with trust. There are
challenges associated with how we communicate with one another, understanding cultural
deference and being culturally responsive. And so our branch singly focuses in on how
(25:25):
do we communicate specifically with regard to screening detection and survivorship.
OLIVER BOGLER (25:32):
Interesting work. So it's kind of, if I just want to check in, if that's right,
it's the desire to see a bigger impact, right? To see more change based on the science, right?
LEEANN BAILEY (25:44):
Absolutely. So one of the most recent programs that we've
begun is called Connecting Underserved Populations to Clinical Trials. And it
really focuses on the ability of folks in the community from racial and ethnic
populations to be referred to clinical trials, not accrual or enrollment, but being asked,
(26:05):
being engaged to be a participant, an active participant in the biomedical research enterprise.
And so I believe that, you know, that communication is facilitating
cancer advances because they then have access to cutting edge technology and
treatment available at our comprehensive cancer centers as well as their community partners.
(26:28):
And so the facilitation of those linkages really results in greater public health for all.
OLIVER BOGLER (26:36):
Interesting. And I spotted in your background that you've also done some really,
other very interesting things that are not common, shall we say, in a
more traditional science CV, if you permit. You've studied management systems design,
which sounds really interesting. And then you've also worked at a consultancy company at Deloitte
for a while. Help me fill out that picture of this incredible skill set that you have.
LEEANN BAILEY (27:01):
So I told you that I had a diverse background. And I think, again,
I'm always interested in how to bring people and programs together. And so the management
systems design was really working with controlled vocabularies and HL7, which are,
you know, clinical standards to be able to not only assess,
(27:25):
but also allow people to communicate better and exchange data in a standardized format.
With Deloitte, I was really interested in a variety of different areas. This was during
the time when PCORI first came into being as well as precision medicine as such.
OLIVER BOGLER (27:44):
Decode PCORI for us. I'm not …
LEEANN BAILEY (27:47):
Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. So again, looking at comparative
effectiveness, disparities, a broad range of topics that really bring to bear how can we
impact the patient for the better from many different lenses. And so there was
a lot of interaction with other federal agencies trying to attack or, you know,
(28:12):
I would say address really complex issues.And for me, that's always fascinated me
because I find that I always learn from those experiences. And so that kind of
explains my curiosity and somewhat of my wayward path with regard to my background.
OLIVER BOGLER (28:28):
Well, I think it's a fascinating path. I,
you one of the things I'm always interested in is sort of the, I don't know what the right word is,
the universality or transferability of skill sets, right? You know, we often think of science
maybe too narrowly, like it's, you know, I know how to pipette or run a column or something,
but you bring all this interesting other way of thinking and managing into your work. And
(28:51):
I wonder how that has come together to prepare you for your roles at NCI,
including this, including brand new role of the Early Onset Initiative.
LEEANN BAILEY (28:59):
So I think back again to just my inherent focus of wanting to leave the people and
the places that I find in a better state than they did when I arrived. And so sometimes that
is on a personal level, sometimes that's on a scientific level, but to really be able to
(29:20):
see the development in different aspects and to have the opportunity in different settings. So
at Deloitte, sometimes it was working with industry clients, right? Sometimes here,
even in the federal government, they're all mission focused. So there's a difference,
but it's all to generate activities and programs and products that are for
(29:42):
the greater good. So the amalgamation of all that, I believe, really prepared me for that.
OLIVER BOGLER (29:48):
So discovery sometimes takes the limelight, right? We give Nobel prizes
for someone who makes a really amazing basic science discovery. But before that actually
positively impacts lives, there is an enormous amount of work that needs to get done and also
many different ways of thinking, right? And that's really where you have your strengths.
LEEANN BAILEY (30:07):
I really do embrace the art of the possible. Thinking outside
of the current confines. My mother always used to say, if you behave the same way,
you should expect to get the same results. If you approach things through this narrow lens,
then this is likely to be your outcome. So if you would like to see different outcomes,
(30:31):
you have to be able to be flexible and encompass change. I think just the adoption of technology,
and some of the events that have happened just on our national lens, like pertaining
to structural racism, have really changed how people view not only their lives, but their work.
OLIVER BOGLER (30:48):
Yeah. I wonder if you could comment on the vantage point of being in government. mean,
these are some heavy lifts. These are some system level changes.
Is government the best place to tackle that? Is it one of the places?
LEEANN BAILEY (31:05):
So I think that's a challenging question. One, because the government,
for better or for worse, is a well-oiled machine. And so one has to have a lot of patience. It's not
always the most nimble. But there are instances in government where we have been able to pivot,
right? Especially thinking about the COVID pandemic, right? And how everyone really
(31:29):
changed the models that they were using. So I think there's something to be also
said for stability. And there is a trust that the greater public can depend upon entities
like the National Institutes of Health for sound guidance, scientific advances, and real impacts
(31:49):
that are going to change patient lives because that's what they depend on. So I think, again,
depending upon what your perspective is, you might have a different take. But I do think
that it is definitely one of the biggest jewels or assets that our country has.
OLIVER BOGLER (32:09):
Thank you very much. In closing then,
I wonder what advice you might have for a listener who is inspired by your career
journey and the work that you're doing and is thinking about finding their own path.
LEEANN BAILEY (32:23):
Yeah, so I would say that my first piece of advice would be that
you should seek out mentors that can provide you with genuine insight and perspective. I wouldn't
be here today if several people hadn't poured into me. And so being able to not only develop
(32:44):
those relationships, but also develop champions, people who will really advocate for you, who know
who you are, who know what you're capable of.And then also don't be afraid to fail. Every fail
consists of basically a learning lesson. And what is considered to be failure, especially
in your postdoc, when that experiment won't work or you don't get accepted for your tenure track
(33:09):
opportunity, recognize that you can always come back and try again. So being resilient and really
focusing in on the positivity, I think, has played a great role in my trajectory and my journey.
OLIVER BOGLER (33:25):
Thank you, that's fabulous advice. mean, resilience is
definitely important and it's not always pain free when you acquire it.
LEEANN BAILEY (33:35):
Correct.
OLIVER BOGLER (33:37):
Fantastic. Well, thank you so much for sharing your journey with us. Thank you.
LEEANN BAILEY (33:42):
You're very welcome and thank you for the opportunity to share. It's been fantastic.
[music]
OLIVER BOGLER (33:54):
We're going to jump into our Your Turn segment now, which is also our
listeners chance to share a recommendation with our audience. If you're listening and
you're invited to take your turn, you can record a tip for a book, a video, a podcast,
or a talk that you found inspirational or amusing or interesting and send it to us NCIICC@nih.gov
(34:15):
and we'll play it in an upcoming episode. But I'd like to invite LeeAnn to take her turn.
LEEANN BAILEY (34:24):
So again, a little nontraditional, I'm not gonna necessarily comply with that ask,
but something that I did recently that I thought was amazing was to participate in
float therapy. So I don't know if you've ever done this before, but basically you
float in salt water and it has all kinds of like really great qualities with regard to health and
(34:47):
wellness. It takes away stress, irritation on your joints, so on and so forth. And then that's
combined with a dip into a freezing cold bath.And so while I absolutely would encourage one
to do it, I will never do that again. That was such a shock to the system,
(35:08):
but I believe everybody should experience it once. So again, it's called float therapy.
OLIVER BOGLER (35:14):
So are you floating in the dark as well,
is it, it's just, it's just the sort of weightlessness feeling that's the therapy.
LEEANN BAILEY (35:20):
It's a tub and the spa can provide different lighting
and there's oils and music. It's really a holistic experience.
OLIVER BOGLER (35:33):
That does sound like fun. I
might check that out. I might skip the plunge, but you know.
LEEANN BAILEY (35:38):
In retrospect, would have been so great if I had just stopped after the float.
OLIVER BOGLER (35:43):
Well, thank you. That's a great piece of advice.
And I usually give a piece … a recommendation as well. But I'm going to skip that today
because I want to ask our listeners to do us a favor. We have a listener
survey out right now and we're trying to get feedback on our podcast. This is our first
episode in our third season. So I think we've got some episodes under our belt,
(36:05):
but we're really open to your input. What would you like to hear? Are you enjoying
the different parts of the episodes? Anything you'd like to share with us. There's going to
be a link to a questionnaire in the show notes. And if you could just take a few minutes out
of your day and click that link and fill out that survey, we would be very, very grateful.
So thank you again, LeeAnn, for joining us. Really, it was a pleasure to talk with you today.
LEEANN BAILEY (36:28):
Thank you so much. Take care, everyone.
[music]
OLIVER BOGLER (36:32):
That’s all we have time for on today’s episode of Inside Cancer Careers! Thank
you for joining us and thank you to our guests.We want to hear from you – your stories,
your ideas and your feedback are welcome. You can reach us at NCIICC@nih.gov.
Inside Cancer Careers is a collaboration between NCI’s Office of Communications and Public Liaison
(36:56):
and the Center for Cancer Training. It is produced by Angela Jones, Astrid Masfar, and Maria Moten.
Join us every first and third Thursday of the month wherever you listen – subscribe
so you won’t miss an episode.If you have questions about
cancer or comments about this podcast, you can email us at NCIinfo@nih.gov or
(37:19):
call us at 800-422-6237. And please be sure to mention Inside Cancer Careers in your query.
We are a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute. Thanks for listening.
Hello and welcome to Inside Cancer Careers, a podcast from the National Cancer
Institute where we explore all the different ways people fight cancer and we hear their stories.
I'm your host, Oliver Bogler from NCI's Center for Cancer Training.
Today we're talking with Dr. LeeAnn Bailey, branch director of the Community Outreach Research and
(00:25):
Engagement branch in the Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities at NCI, and head of the brand
new Early Onset Cancer Initiative for the NCI.Listen through to the end of the show to hear
our guests make an interesting recommendation and where we invite you to take your turn. And
of course, we're always glad to hear your feedback on what you hear and suggestions
(00:46):
on what you might like us to cover. The show's email is NCIICC@nih.gov.
Welcome, Dr. Bailey. Welcome, LeeAnn.
LEEANN BAILEY (00:55):
Hello, hello,
thank you so much. Really excited about this opportunity and conversation.
OLIVER BOGLER (01:01):
Thank you. I'd like to start with your newest role, leading the NCI's Early Onset
Cancer Initiative. Can you just define for us as a starting point, what is early onset cancer?
LEEANN BAILEY (01:12):
Absolutely. So early onset cancer is defined as cancers diagnosed in patients from
the ages of 18 to 49 years old. And they're typically diagnosed in older adults, but in
this instance, it's for earlier cohorts. And this is in contrast with AYA, or cancer in adolescents
(01:32):
and young adults, which include pediatric cancers that are diagnosed in young adults.
We're still working to understand all the trends in early onset cancers,
but we know that certain cancers have significantly increased in
frequency over the past decade. Examples are colorectal cancer.
OLIVER BOGLER (01:50):
So that presumably is what prompted the NCI to form an initiative around this topic.
LEEANN BAILEY (01:55):
Yes, although I would add that NCI has been tracking EOC
or early onset cancer for over 10 years. And what's been observed is a steady
and significant spike in cancers that are typically found in older adults occurring in
young people with seemingly no family history or co-morbidities. So over the past decade,
(02:16):
NCI has supported over 30 intramural and 25 extramural early onset cancer projects
under our purview. And the majority of the NCI designated cancer centers have also dedicated
many efforts to this disease as well.So there are other institutes and
organizations who have been tracking and trying to better understand and respond, but due to the
(02:41):
complex nature and time constraints, there's really a big need to accelerate scientific
discovery. Our goal is to reduce early onset cancer incidents and improve survivorship.
OLIVER BOGLER (02:54):
Right, right. So I get it. It's kind of a big gnarly problem. The NCI
is well positioned to tackle it. I want to just drill down a little bit on the
demographic. is it like a 10-year shift in earlier onset or what kind of a shift are
you seeing? And is that sort of the same for all the different cancers involved?
LEEANN BAILEY (03:15):
So we see different trends in different cancers and in different populations. So
for example, we are seeing an increased incidence of specific types of aggressive breast cancers,
such as triple negative breast cancer in Black women. However, we're also seeing that those
with Hispanic heritage are most likely to be diagnosed with early onset gastric cancer.
OLIVER BOGLER (03:37):
This effort has just started. I've seen it written about
as it being in the nascent phase. Help us understand what it takes
to establish such a big effort at an institution like the NCI.
LEEANN BAILEY (03:52):
Right. So I was asked by our director, Dr. Kim Rathmell, to lead
this initiative for NCI. And it involves a lot of coordination. And it's not just with our agency's
leadership, but with program experts across the entire Institute. External partners are really key
to this initiative, and also patients, providers, and caregivers, because they are actively involved
(04:15):
and provide critical insight and perspective.Ensuring that we're communicating effectively
and reaching out to the appropriate groups continues to be an evolving
but welcome challenge. We want to ensure that everyone has a voice at the table. And
as anyone new to NCI will tell you, NCI is a big place. We have brilliant scientists with a variety
(04:37):
of different expertise areas working on every aspect of cancer research that you can imagine.
So learning about the opportunities across the entire institute and figuring out where we
can focus or leverage programs to build up EOC efforts has really been an exciting challenge.
OLIVER BOGLER (04:54):
I'm glad it's exciting because it seems difficult. So
I'm sure in this work, it's important to include the voice of the patient and the caregivers. And
I'm wondering whether that's part of the vision of this work that you're doing.
LEEANN BAILEY (05:10):
Yeah, absolutely. Keeping patients and caregivers at the center of
the initiative is really a top priority for us. Our first major meeting for the
initiative is actually going to be a listening session with patients,
representing all of the cancer types that we're looking to target in this first phase. And we
want to make sure that all of our program leaders who will be contributing to the initiative really
(05:32):
understand what patients' primary concerns are so that we can be responsive to those needs.
NCI has several established relationships with patient and advocacy groups, and we are enlisting
and querying as many as we can to really bring their perspectives and ideas to this effort.
OLIVER BOGLER (05:51):
So I want to sort of talk a little
bit about the biology or the clinical picture. I was wondering whether any
underlying factors are already emerging. You mentioned some ongoing research projects. Do
we have a feeling for what's going on? Are these environmental influences? Do we know?
LEEANN BAILEY (06:12):
So we don't know all of the reasons that we are seeing these trends, but we suspect
that there is some environmental exposure or a combination of exposures even that's contributing
to the increased incidence. It might be something in the food we eat or how people are sleeping and
exercising less than they used to. We also know that there's a substantial amount of heterogeneity
(06:35):
in these cancers in the tumor burden, which means that we're really seeing a lot of differences in
the tumors that the patients are developing. So it may be that different risk factors and
a variety of combinations of environmental and genetic risk factors are playing a role here.
And we do see this shift in certain cancers more than in others. So there's a lot of work
(06:57):
to be done, but for the first phase of the initiative, we're going to be
focused on a subset of cancers that appear to be associated with higher body mass, if you will:
colorectal cancer, pancreatic, endometrial, liver, gallbladder, gastric, and multiple myeloma. And
we're also focusing on kidney cancer and premenopausal breast cancer, because we
(07:19):
do understand that metabolic dysregulation plays a key role in each of these cancers.
OLIVER BOGLER (07:25):
Yeah, but that's quite a list. That's a big field, if you will. And so I wonder
within that, because it's such a big field, you probably have to do some picking and choosing of
what to think about or what to address. I wonder if there are some particularly sort of promising
(07:46):
areas of research that you're focused on, maybe in prevention or early detection or related areas.
LEEANN BAILEY (07:54):
So in thinking about this in terms of public health, we really want to be able to
identify which patients are at the most risk of developing early onset cancers and determine
when and how they should be screened. So NCI does a lot of work in developing the evidence
that's in use to inform cancer screening guidelines through programs like CISNET,
(08:15):
the Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network. A consortium that uses
simulation modeling to improve our understanding of cancer control interventions in prevention,
screening, and treatment, and their effects on the population trends
and incidence and mortality. We are also very interested in the tumor biology and
(08:36):
the factors that drive perhaps these cancers in different populations in different ways.
OLIVER BOGLER (08:44):
Interesting. Yeah. So there's a lot of basic science that needs to be done,
but at the same time, we need to keep an eye on what's going on at
the population level. Yeah. That, makes it challenging. Part of this is also awareness,
right? You've already addressed, you know, BMI and exercise levels and other things that are,
I'm going to say, you know, at least have a public awareness component,
(09:06):
right? In terms of trying to tackle them.So what is the vision for this early onset
initiative that you're leading in terms of how do we bring in or how do we raise
awareness amongst the general public and also healthcare providers about this topic?
LEEANN BAILEY (09:20):
Yeah, absolutely. That's a great question. And we really think about
NCI-supported research that's led to updates in the US Preventative
Services Task Force screening guidelines for both breast and colorectal cancer,
which lower the age for people to start screening. We want to continue to do this
type of population-based screening research to identify when we need to start screening for
(09:43):
cancers without causing harm to patients through unnecessary medical procedures.
So every medical breakthrough really has its foundation in basic science. And I feel that
investigators are learning more and more every day about how cancer develops and spreads.
And these insights give us new ideas about therapies to prevent and treat.
(10:05):
So for example, decades of research into mutations in the RAS family of genes,
some of which occur with really high frequency in early onset colorectal cancer have led to recent
FDA approvals of KRAS inhibitors. And just this past June, the FDA did grant accelerated approval
to one of these drugs for advanced CRC. So, although we have a mandate and definitely
(10:32):
a commitment to informing, we also are going be looking to our federal partners at agencies like
CDC, HRQ, and CMS to help us get the word out.And one goal of the initiative is specifically
to work with professional societies to develop guidelines for primary care providers of how to
work with patients concerning red flags symptoms, if you will. So for example,
(10:57):
what types of screening and tests should you consider for a patient in her twenties who
presents to her family doctor with abdominal pain and rectal bleeding? Having guidelines
like this will help patients get diagnosed sooner and also may make their disease easier to treat.
OLIVER BOGLER (11:14):
Yeah, I mean, you've raised several things there that I
think are really important and interesting. So I'm going to do them backwards. the last
thing you said made me think that there's probably a lot of unevenness in how this is
happening in our country, right? The early onset shift may not be happening
(11:34):
equally in all populations, right? By geography, by socio-economic status,
health care access and things like that. Is that... do you anticipate that?
LEEANN BAILEY (11:44):
We absolutely do. We're very interested in the demographics in different
populations as well as rurality and the social determinants of health as you just alluded to.
Examining disparities is critically important. Looking at these racial and ethnic groups along
with the others that I've just mentioned is critical for improving not only the standard
(12:04):
of care, but also for developing new therapies that are tailored for reducing cancer health
disparities. And this appears to be of substantial importance in cancers like CRC, for example.
OLIVER BOGLER (12:17):
Yeah, yeah. And you mentioned the KRAS initiative, which I think is a really
a shining example of a long endurance, basic science investment, right? That initially,
you know, lot of people when KRAS was first identified were, we, you know, we, this is going
to lead to major breakthroughs and then many years of disappointment, but NCI stuck with it. And now
(12:39):
it's, it's, it's yielding results in terms of FDA approved therapies, as you mentioned, which might
feedback positively into this. So I guess another challenge in the Early Onset Cancer Initiative is
to keep an eye on all these different things that are going on and see if they can be pulled in.
LEEANN BAILEY (12:57):
Yeah, I think that's a really important point
in that we really do need to have that continuity as you mentioned,
right? Not only through individual investigations, through, you know, R01s, but also through larger
programs. By thinking creatively and really plugging into the fantastic work that's
already underway, I really see opportunities to strengthen that for many of the activities.
(13:23):
And then the other piece that I guess I'd like to mention is with regard to
a few of the programs that we have that I'd like to highlight, the clinical trials infrastructure
provides a great platform as well, specifically the National Clinical Trials Network and the NCI
Community Oncology Research Program. And ensuring that they're set up to include early onset cancer
(13:47):
patients where it's applicable from a scientific perspective is definitely a place where we could
leverage existing infrastructure, and programs.So examining and identifying what biospecimens
and genomic data we already have in our repositories is also a critical component.
So perhaps leveraging these biospecimens that are collected through the NCI-supported trials
(14:12):
and the Cancer Data Research Commons can encourage investigators to be more collaborative and come
up with some of these amazing breakthroughs.So one of the questions is, how do we enhance
the collection and the sharing of data amongst our investigators?
OLIVER BOGLER (14:29):
Yep. Yep. It almost seems to me like you're taking a fresh lens,
the early onset lens, if you will, and looking at some of the things that exist
already that have already been invested in and seeing if they can be relevant in your work.
LEEANN BAILEY (14:41):
Yeah, absolutely. We are committed in every capacity to really ensuring that we
are bringing all of our efforts to bear and not creating silos, rather breaking them down. As I
mentioned, we have investigators in very diverse, multidisciplinary settings that are all coming
(15:02):
together to really, if you will, re-examine where we can make strides as a community in this effort.
OLIVER BOGLER (15:09):
So you're just getting going with this very exciting and important project. What
are your hopes for the future? If I could entice you to project maybe a couple of
years or several years down the road, where do you hope that this initiative will be?
LEEANN BAILEY (15:24):
Absolutely. So it is an effort that's in its early stages. But when we ask
patients to share their experiences with early onset cancers, they kept coming back to wanting
to be present, to do the good things happening in their lives. So they wanted to be thinking
about their careers, planning their weddings, taking their kids to basketball practice,
(15:48):
if you will, not dealing with the side effects of cancer treatment or worrying about dying.
So if we can alleviate some of the stress and anxiety that early onset patients have to deal
with, we haven't even really touched upon financial toxicity and all the challenges
associated with that. In some instances, this generation is also taking care of elderly
(16:11):
parents that might have a cancer diagnosis of their own. So having more insight and enabling
better survivorship outcomes is absolutely a goal, both short term as well as long term.
And then the other point that I really wanted to make sure that I touch upon with regard to
that is there's substantial value in having clinicians and scientists intentionally
(16:34):
study this group. So studying EOC really allows researchers to understand the unique biological
mechanisms behind cancers developing at a younger age, potentially leading to the
development of better prevention strategies, earlier detection methods, and tailored
treatment options specifically for young parents while also highlighting the need for targeted
(16:59):
support both for the social and psychological impacts of a cancer diagnosis at a younger age.
In the words of Dr. Rathmell, “what you pay attention to grows”. So ultimately,
what we'd really like to be able to learn is how do we prevent these cancers? And for
those that we can't prevent, I really hope that we improve early diagnosis and find
(17:22):
effective less toxic treatments that really enable patients to get back to living their
lives. The ultimate goal of this is really to see patients thrive, not merely survive.
OLIVER BOGLER (17:33):
Yeah, that's so important. I mean … I'm so excited for this work to
happen and have its impact. I'm a 12-year cancer survivor myself,
and I like to think of myself as thriving, and I wish it for all
people who are diagnosed, particularly those who are diagnosed so early in their lives.
LEEANN BAILEY (17:50):
Absolutely. I hope that the message really resonates because I don't
know of very many people who haven't either been personally affected by cancer or have
it be a great factor for those that they love and care for. So involved in that, you know,
in addition to patients are also the caregivers. I think that's a really great point, you know,
(18:13):
family and friends as well as providers. And there are a lot of people who play a role in
patient care. So very pleased to treat this in ways that perhaps weren't conceived 12 years ago,
to enable that. And so pleased to hear of your status.
OLIVER BOGLER (18:34):
Thank you. So if people want to follow along with this exciting work,
I'm guessing there's going to be an NCI website focused on it that they can track.
LEEANN BAILEY (18:42):
Yes, I think at this point, we're still trying to figure out what's the
best and most effective way to communicate. So right now, I am the one stop shop and
happy to engage and have conversation and collaboration because I really do believe
that everyone has a voice that's critically important to contribute to this initiative.
OLIVER BOGLER (19:02):
Okay, we'll put that contact info in the show notes. Well,
I certainly wish you nothing but tremendous success with this work.
LEEANN BAILEY (19:10):
Thank you so much.
OLIVER BOGLER (19:12):
OK, we're going to take a quick break. And when we come back,
we're going to talk about Dr. Bailey's career and learn how she got to be where she is today.
[music]
Calling all global cancer researchers! Now is the time to share your original
(19:32):
research designed to reduce the burden of cancer in low- and middle-income
countries. Submit your scientific session and abstract proposals for the 13th Annual
Symposium on Global Cancer Research today. From exploring cancer health
disparities to implementing and evaluating evidence-based cancer control interventions,
ASGCR provides a forum for investigators to share science-based initiatives for cancer control.
(19:57):
Know an outstanding professional who embodies virtue and eminence in cancer research,
training, or practice? Nominate them for the Rachel Pearline
Award and recognize their notable contributions to global oncology.
The deadline to submit proposals for abstracts, sessions, and Pearline
Award nominations is January 17, 2025. Visit events.cancer.gov/cgh/asgcr to learn more.
(20:25):
Keep up with new and innovative research in global oncology
at the bi-monthly Global Cancer Research and Control Seminar Series – returning in
2025! Learn from investigators and cancer control experts working around the world
and engage in conversations on approaches to addressing cancer morbidity and mortality.
Find more information about the Global Cancer Research and Control Seminar Series,
(20:49):
new funding opportunities, cancer control resources, and more on the NCI Center for Global
Health website cancer.gov/globalhealth. That is cancer.gov/globalhealth.
[music ends]
OK, and we're back. My favorite question as always, LeeAnn,
is what first sparked your interest in science?
LEEANN BAILEY (21:13):
So I am a native of Missouri and a farm girl. And my father grew up on a farm and
we were completely immersed in all aspects of biology. And so I was always fascinated to see
how it is nature happened, to pick that apart, so on and so forth. And so I was
(21:35):
always the one who was eager to put two things together to see what would happen,
right? The cause and effect and the ability to influence that or not influence that. And
so that translated to that same curiosity when I began attending regular public school. And I had
(21:55):
some fantastic elementary school teachers that really indulged and encouraged our curiosity.
And so once I had a few experiments underneath my belt, baking soda and vinegar, it was all over.
OLIVER BOGLER (22:12):
Fantastic. And so help us understand the path from
these early experiences to your work in cancer research. How did you become focused on cancer?
LEEANN BAILEY (22:21):
So unfortunately, our family is disproportionately affected by cancer incidence.
All of the women on my paternal side have passed away of cancer
at very early ages. An aunt who passed at 42, both of my great grandmothers,
as well as my grandmothers. And so wanting to be able to make a change,
(22:45):
make a difference and help them not only navigate the healthcare system, but also specifically
focused in on cancer was something that was near and dear to my heart and continues to be.
OLIVER BOGLER (22:57):
So you really started on the basic research end of things,
right? You did a degree in biochemistry, if I remember correctly.
LEEANN BAILEY (23:04):
Correct.
OLIVER BOGLER (23:05):
And tell us more about that.
LEEANN BAILEY (23:09):
So it's a bit of a funny story. So again, I have a Doris background as well. I
attended Millikan University in Decatur, Illinois, and I was a vocal performance
major as well as a biochemistry major. Right. And so the combination of those two things
really, I think, demonstrated to me that you could apply your talents in many different ways. Right.
(23:35):
And so with regard to biochemistry, that led to a curiosity about how biological systems
relate to one another. I was never really interested in a single gene or a protein,
but really how the system worked. So what factors, you know, influenced a certain path? Could you
redirect them? Could you ameliorate them? What could you really do? And so I remember having the
(24:01):
love of chasing electrons with Diels-Alder, you know, reactions. That was my jam in those days.
OLIVER BOGLER (24:09):
Interesting, interesting. Your interests have evolved though,
right? You're now your role, your day job before the Early Onset Cancer Initiative is
to lead a branch that in the Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities - the
Community Outreach Research and Engagement Branch, right? So that sounds like,
doesn't sound like biochemistry to me. So help us understand the evolution of your interests.
LEEANN BAILEY (24:34):
Yeah, absolutely. So during my training, I discovered that there needed
to really be a translation. There needs to be a communication or dissemination specifically
to the populations that needed it most. So communicating that to providers and then to the
lay community as well as to the larger scientific community really became a passion for me.
(24:59):
So in our branch, we have a focus on underrepresented and underserved
populations because in many communities, there are challenges associated with trust. There are
challenges associated with how we communicate with one another, understanding cultural
deference and being culturally responsive. And so our branch singly focuses in on how
(25:25):
do we communicate specifically with regard to screening detection and survivorship.
OLIVER BOGLER (25:32):
Interesting work. So it's kind of, if I just want to check in, if that's right,
it's the desire to see a bigger impact, right? To see more change based on the science, right?
LEEANN BAILEY (25:44):
Absolutely. So one of the most recent programs that we've
begun is called Connecting Underserved Populations to Clinical Trials. And it
really focuses on the ability of folks in the community from racial and ethnic
populations to be referred to clinical trials, not accrual or enrollment, but being asked,
(26:05):
being engaged to be a participant, an active participant in the biomedical research enterprise.
And so I believe that, you know, that communication is facilitating
cancer advances because they then have access to cutting edge technology and
treatment available at our comprehensive cancer centers as well as their community partners.
(26:28):
And so the facilitation of those linkages really results in greater public health for all.
OLIVER BOGLER (26:36):
Interesting. And I spotted in your background that you've also done some really,
other very interesting things that are not common, shall we say, in a
more traditional science CV, if you permit. You've studied management systems design,
which sounds really interesting. And then you've also worked at a consultancy company at Deloitte
for a while. Help me fill out that picture of this incredible skill set that you have.
LEEANN BAILEY (27:01):
So I told you that I had a diverse background. And I think, again,
I'm always interested in how to bring people and programs together. And so the management
systems design was really working with controlled vocabularies and HL7, which are,
you know, clinical standards to be able to not only assess,
(27:25):
but also allow people to communicate better and exchange data in a standardized format.
With Deloitte, I was really interested in a variety of different areas. This was during
the time when PCORI first came into being as well as precision medicine as such.
OLIVER BOGLER (27:44):
Decode PCORI for us. I'm not …
LEEANN BAILEY (27:47):
Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. So again, looking at comparative
effectiveness, disparities, a broad range of topics that really bring to bear how can we
impact the patient for the better from many different lenses. And so there was
a lot of interaction with other federal agencies trying to attack or, you know,
(28:12):
I would say address really complex issues.And for me, that's always fascinated me
because I find that I always learn from those experiences. And so that kind of
explains my curiosity and somewhat of my wayward path with regard to my background.
OLIVER BOGLER (28:28):
Well, I think it's a fascinating path. I,
you one of the things I'm always interested in is sort of the, I don't know what the right word is,
the universality or transferability of skill sets, right? You know, we often think of science
maybe too narrowly, like it's, you know, I know how to pipette or run a column or something,
but you bring all this interesting other way of thinking and managing into your work. And
(28:51):
I wonder how that has come together to prepare you for your roles at NCI,
including this, including brand new role of the Early Onset Initiative.
LEEANN BAILEY (28:59):
So I think back again to just my inherent focus of wanting to leave the people and
the places that I find in a better state than they did when I arrived. And so sometimes that
is on a personal level, sometimes that's on a scientific level, but to really be able to
(29:20):
see the development in different aspects and to have the opportunity in different settings. So
at Deloitte, sometimes it was working with industry clients, right? Sometimes here,
even in the federal government, they're all mission focused. So there's a difference,
but it's all to generate activities and programs and products that are for
(29:42):
the greater good. So the amalgamation of all that, I believe, really prepared me for that.
OLIVER BOGLER (29:48):
So discovery sometimes takes the limelight, right? We give Nobel prizes
for someone who makes a really amazing basic science discovery. But before that actually
positively impacts lives, there is an enormous amount of work that needs to get done and also
many different ways of thinking, right? And that's really where you have your strengths.
LEEANN BAILEY (30:07):
I really do embrace the art of the possible. Thinking outside
of the current confines. My mother always used to say, if you behave the same way,
you should expect to get the same results. If you approach things through this narrow lens,
then this is likely to be your outcome. So if you would like to see different outcomes,
(30:31):
you have to be able to be flexible and encompass change. I think just the adoption of technology,
and some of the events that have happened just on our national lens, like pertaining
to structural racism, have really changed how people view not only their lives, but their work.
OLIVER BOGLER (30:48):
Yeah. I wonder if you could comment on the vantage point of being in government. mean,
these are some heavy lifts. These are some system level changes.
Is government the best place to tackle that? Is it one of the places?
LEEANN BAILEY (31:05):
So I think that's a challenging question. One, because the government,
for better or for worse, is a well-oiled machine. And so one has to have a lot of patience. It's not
always the most nimble. But there are instances in government where we have been able to pivot,
right? Especially thinking about the COVID pandemic, right? And how everyone really
(31:29):
changed the models that they were using. So I think there's something to be also
said for stability. And there is a trust that the greater public can depend upon entities
like the National Institutes of Health for sound guidance, scientific advances, and real impacts
(31:49):
that are going to change patient lives because that's what they depend on. So I think, again,
depending upon what your perspective is, you might have a different take. But I do think
that it is definitely one of the biggest jewels or assets that our country has.
OLIVER BOGLER (32:09):
Thank you very much. In closing then,
I wonder what advice you might have for a listener who is inspired by your career
journey and the work that you're doing and is thinking about finding their own path.
LEEANN BAILEY (32:23):
Yeah, so I would say that my first piece of advice would be that
you should seek out mentors that can provide you with genuine insight and perspective. I wouldn't
be here today if several people hadn't poured into me. And so being able to not only develop
(32:44):
those relationships, but also develop champions, people who will really advocate for you, who know
who you are, who know what you're capable of.And then also don't be afraid to fail. Every fail
consists of basically a learning lesson. And what is considered to be failure, especially
in your postdoc, when that experiment won't work or you don't get accepted for your tenure track
(33:09):
opportunity, recognize that you can always come back and try again. So being resilient and really
focusing in on the positivity, I think, has played a great role in my trajectory and my journey.
OLIVER BOGLER (33:25):
Thank you, that's fabulous advice. mean, resilience is
definitely important and it's not always pain free when you acquire it.
LEEANN BAILEY (33:35):
Correct.
OLIVER BOGLER (33:37):
Fantastic. Well, thank you so much for sharing your journey with us. Thank you.
LEEANN BAILEY (33:42):
You're very welcome and thank you for the opportunity to share. It's been fantastic.
[music]
OLIVER BOGLER (33:54):
We're going to jump into our Your Turn segment now, which is also our
listeners chance to share a recommendation with our audience. If you're listening and
you're invited to take your turn, you can record a tip for a book, a video, a podcast,
or a talk that you found inspirational or amusing or interesting and send it to us NCIICC@nih.gov
(34:15):
and we'll play it in an upcoming episode. But I'd like to invite LeeAnn to take her turn.
LEEANN BAILEY (34:24):
So again, a little nontraditional, I'm not gonna necessarily comply with that ask,
but something that I did recently that I thought was amazing was to participate in
float therapy. So I don't know if you've ever done this before, but basically you
float in salt water and it has all kinds of like really great qualities with regard to health and
(34:47):
wellness. It takes away stress, irritation on your joints, so on and so forth. And then that's
combined with a dip into a freezing cold bath.And so while I absolutely would encourage one
to do it, I will never do that again. That was such a shock to the system,
(35:08):
but I believe everybody should experience it once. So again, it's called float therapy.
OLIVER BOGLER (35:14):
So are you floating in the dark as well,
is it, it's just, it's just the sort of weightlessness feeling that's the therapy.
LEEANN BAILEY (35:20):
It's a tub and the spa can provide different lighting
and there's oils and music. It's really a holistic experience.
OLIVER BOGLER (35:33):
That does sound like fun. I
might check that out. I might skip the plunge, but you know.
LEEANN BAILEY (35:38):
In retrospect, would have been so great if I had just stopped after the float.
OLIVER BOGLER (35:43):
Well, thank you. That's a great piece of advice.
And I usually give a piece … a recommendation as well. But I'm going to skip that today
because I want to ask our listeners to do us a favor. We have a listener
survey out right now and we're trying to get feedback on our podcast. This is our first
episode in our third season. So I think we've got some episodes under our belt,
(36:05):
but we're really open to your input. What would you like to hear? Are you enjoying
the different parts of the episodes? Anything you'd like to share with us. There's going to
be a link to a questionnaire in the show notes. And if you could just take a few minutes out
of your day and click that link and fill out that survey, we would be very, very grateful.
So thank you again, LeeAnn, for joining us. Really, it was a pleasure to talk with you today.
LEEANN BAILEY (36:28):
Thank you so much. Take care, everyone.
[music]
OLIVER BOGLER (36:32):
That’s all we have time for on today’s episode of Inside Cancer Careers! Thank
you for joining us and thank you to our guests.We want to hear from you – your stories,
your ideas and your feedback are welcome. You can reach us at NCIICC@nih.gov.
Inside Cancer Careers is a collaboration between NCI’s Office of Communications and Public Liaison
(36:56):
and the Center for Cancer Training. It is produced by Angela Jones, Astrid Masfar, and Maria Moten.
Join us every first and third Thursday of the month wherever you listen – subscribe
so you won’t miss an episode.If you have questions about
cancer or comments about this podcast, you can email us at NCIinfo@nih.gov or
(37:19):
call us at 800-422-6237. And please be sure to mention Inside Cancer Careers in your query.
We are a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute. Thanks for listening.
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