Director's Cut

Director's message

February has been a month defined not only by achievement and celebration, but also by resilience in our cyberattack response. Through the month, whether we were moving to the UMMC Pavilion, celebrating gifts toward construction of a new home for CCRI or finding ways to work while systems were down, there was one constant: providing the best care possible to our patients.

Why NCI designation matters

Dr. LouAnn Woodward, vice chancellor for health affairs, shared this essential information about our mission to gain NCI designation in a VC Notes email Feb. 6.

Displaying C Spire's $5 million gift to the UMMC Cancer Center and Research Institute are, from left, Dr. Rod Rocconi, Ergon Chair for Cancer Research and CCRI director; Dr. LouAnn Woodward, vice chancellor for health affairs; and Dr. Holt Crews, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology and a member of the C Spire board of directors.

C Spire announces $5M gift to support new home for CCRI

A $5 million gift from C Spire is helping move Mississippi closer to a new era in cancer care, supporting the capital campaign to build a new home for the Cancer Center and Research Institute at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

Kerry and Dr. Paul Parker are continuing to show their support for UMMC by making a $250,000 donation to the Cancer Center and Research Institute.

Parkers’ $250,000 gift advancing cancer care at UMMC

Dr. Paul Parker spent his career caring for young gastroenterology patients at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. A $250,000 donation to the UMMC Cancer Center and Research Institute from Parker and his wife, Kerry, is aimed at bringing state-of-the-art cancer care close to home for Mississippians.

Smoking alters prostate cancer immune environment, CCRI study finds

Research conducted by the CCRI team — including instructors Dr. Amod Sharma and Dr. Sarabjeet Kour Sudan; assistant professor Dr. Pratim Guha Niyogi; Dr. Ajay Singh, professor and associate director of basic and translational research; and Dr. Seema Singh, professor and associate director of education and training — investigated how smoking affects the immune microenvironments of prostate tumors.