The Penn Center for Cancer Care Innovation (PC3I) is collaborating with Tennessee Oncology’s McKay Institute for Oncology Transformation on a new academic-community oncology innovation partnership with the aim to improve care delivery for patients with cancer.

The two organizations will focus on opportunities to pursue jointly-funded clinical research, facilitate national collaborations around innovation in cancer care, and work to bring transformational solutions to scale. “This is an incredibly exciting relationship that brings together two organizations dedicated to innovation in cancer,” said Justin Bekelman, MD, PC3I’s Director. “PC3I deeply respects the McKay Institute’s experience in community oncology care and research, and we look forward to pairing that with our expertise in creating, testing, and scaling transformative change in cancer care.”

“Our physicians are excited to partner with PC3I’s team on scientific research to advance cancer care delivery innovation,” said Natalie Dickson, MD, President & Chief Strategy Officer, Tennessee Oncology. “Since Tennessee Oncology treats patients in rural and urban areas, our partnership will bring a unique platform to examine clinical trial and care delivery innovation in different clinic settings.”

Penn and Tennessee Oncology’s previous collaborations include:

• A project led by Ravi Parikh, MD, MPP, FACP to leverage behavioral economics and predictive analytics to improve oncology patient health outcomes.
• NOURISH: Screening for food insecurity in oncology settings for underserved rural communities, led by Tamara Cadet, PhD, LICSW, MPH.