Lexington - Captain:Bob. 1/12/2018. PURE BRAGGING

I am always surprised at how many people are interested in the post I make. I do not consider them to be of much value but I guess it is an interesting trip. I am stretch your potential level of interest but the more I have thought the more I wanted to brag a little. As you know I just spent time with my family in South Africa. I have recently learned that my son-in -law was recognized by his institution. I am copying their press release below for those who are most tolerant of what I contribute.
January Physician of the Month: Dr. Lawrence “Drew” Shirley
JANUARY 03, 2018 - 4:42 PM
Collaboration is the key for Lawrence “Drew” Shirley, MD.

And it’s one of the many reasons he’s January’s Physician of the Month at
The Ohio State University’s Comprehensive Cancer Center and Arthur G. James
Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James).

“There is no greater honor than being able to practice alongside some of
the most renowned cancer experts in the world,” said Shirley, a surgical
oncologist who focuses on endocrine cancers, specifically tumors of the
thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal glands. “Once one of my patients has been
diagnosed with cancer, I’m able to collaborate with my colleagues to make
sure these patients have the most cutting-edge treatments.”

Shirley came to the OSUCCC – James in 2011 as a clinical fellow in
surgical oncology with a specific goal in mind: “From early on, I wanted to
be a surgeon who also did research.”

Consider that goal accomplished.

With the help of a Pelotonia Fellowship, Dr. Shirley was able to extend
his clinical fellowship for an additional year and begin to delve deep into
research in addition to seeing patients. He was appointed to the OSUCCC –
James faculty in 2014, and has been awarded two National Institutes of
Health (NIH) grants as well as a grant from the American Thyroid
Association to further the research of his lab.

Shirley’s research focuses on integrin-linker kinase (ILK), a protein
expressed at higher rates in patients with more aggressive thyroid cancers.
Under the mentorship of Matthew Ringel, MD, a leading member of the OSUCCC
– James thyroid cancer treatment team, Dr. Shirley and his team have
improved understanding of the tumor microenvironment of thyroid cancer, or
those “normal” cells that inadvertently assist in cancer growth. Shirley’s
laboratory is using these initial discoveries to uncover markers that can
guide patient care as well as novel therapeutic targets that may give new
hope to patients who have run out of treatment options.

The goal is “that the discoveries we find in these cells in the lab will
lead to an impact on patient care,” Shirley said.

He met his primary collaborator, his wife Kathryn Kelly Shirley, while
they were in medical school at the University of Kentucky. Kathryn Shirley
is a pediatrician at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and the couple has two
children: Audrey, 11, and Sam, 8.

Shirley credits the Pelotonia Fellowship he received for jump-starting his
research. In return, he rides every year and helps to spread the word about
the annual, fundraising bike ride that has raised $156 million in nine
years for cancer research at the OSUCCC – James.

“It’s almost overwhelming emotionally to see so many people supporting a
cause I’m so passionate about,” he said of Pelotonia. “And, when I’m having
a bad day, when things aren’t going well, I think of the Pelotonia
experience and it pushes me to keep moving forward.”
May fair winds fill your sails with family you are proud of
Bob