U.S. Senator Krysten Sinema Hears from UACC Panel and Tours Facility

U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema visited the UArizona Cancer Center (UACC) on Aug. 9 to tour its facilities along with UACC Director, Dr. Joann Sweasy; UA Health Sciences Senior Vice President, Dr. Michael Dake; UA President, Dr. Robert C. Robbins; and Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff, Jon Dudas. Sinema presented Sweasy with a copy of the Senate Resolution to declare July 20 as Glioblastoma Awareness Day. 

The senator heard presentations from several of the center’s leading research scientists including Dr. Nam Lee, Dr. Monica Yellowhair, Dr. Rachna Schroff, Dr. Jeff Burgess, and Dr. Aaron Scott. UACC's representative scientists spoke on a variety of topics to brief the senator on the work of the cancer center including advancements in the treatment of pancreatic cancer, the firefighter cancer cohort study, underserved communities of Arizona, and educating the next generation of cancer researchers.

"We were honored to host Senator Sinema and have her tour UACC," Sweasy said. "I'm grateful for the hard work our researchers are doing to garner this kind of attention. This kind of interest in what we do is indicative of the reputation we've built, and it certainly bodes well for the impact we will have in the years to come."

Senator Sinema also toured the UACC laboratories of Dr. Sara Centuori and Dr. Yana Zavros. Sinema's visit coincided with UACC's announcement of being re-designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) as a “comprehensive cancer center,” an honor it has held since 1990.