NRG Oncology, a premier group within the National Cancer Institute’s National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN), recently announced pivotal leadership changes within its committees dedicated to advancing cancer research and patient advocacy. These appointments highlight the organization’s ongoing commitment to integrating patient-centered perspectives and surgical expertise into clinical trial development and execution, ultimately aiming to transform cancer care on a broad scale.
Tambre Leighn has been elevated to Chair of the NRG Patient Advocate Committee (PAC), building on her prior role as the committee’s Vice Chair. Ms. Leighn’s leadership across multiple committees within NRG Oncology, including the Cancer Care Delivery Research and Communications Committees, underscores her multifaceted contributions to the organization. Her professional background as a communications consultant, combined with her deeply personal mission stemming from founding her own firm, Well Beyond Ordinary, equips her uniquely to champion enhanced patient communication and engagement within oncology clinical trials.
In her new capacity as Chair, Ms. Leighn’s primary focus will be on expanding the reach and impact of the PAC within NRG’s expansive research network, which spans over a thousand sites internationally. By fostering collaboration between patient advocates and clinical researchers, she aims to refine trial protocols to better reflect patient needs, increase trial adherence, and optimize outcome measures. Her approach leans heavily on coaching-based interventions designed to empower patients, enhancing communication strategies that address adherence barriers and foster meaningful participation.
Working closely with Vice Chair Marlyn Molero, Ms. Leighn is spearheading initiatives to develop educational frameworks that systematically integrate patient advocacy into every stage of study design, execution, and publication. These efforts signal a transformative shift, positioning patients not merely as subjects of research but as active partners who can shape scientific inquiry and its translations into real-world clinical benefit.
While NRG Oncology continues to solicit applications for the now-vacant Vice Chair role on the PAC, these leadership shifts occur amid a burgeoning emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration. The integration of patient advocacy within a research network focused on practice-changing oncology trials epitomizes a model where patient insights serve as catalysts for innovation, translational science, and personalized care strategies.
Simultaneously, Dr. Chris Holsinger has been appointed Surgical Vice Chair of the NRG Head and Neck Cancer (HNC) Committee and Chair of the NRG Head and Neck Surgery Working Group. Dr. Holsinger’s tenure with NRG Oncology exceeds two decades, marked by a consistent role in advancing surgical oncology research, particularly through his leadership in pivotal trials such as RTOG 0920, RTOG 1221, and ECOG 3311.
His contributions to surgical trial methodology are notable for pioneering prospective surgeon credentialing programs and ongoing quality assurance mechanisms. These innovative frameworks ensure surgical standardization and expertise across multiple collaborative group trials, which is critical in minimizing variability that might confound clinical outcomes in head and neck oncology studies. Dr. Holsinger’s dual role as an academic surgical oncologist and committee leader situates him as a key figure driving both scientific rigor and clinical relevance within the surgical research arena.
At Stanford University, where he serves as a professor and former Division Chief in the Department of Otolaryngology, Dr. Holsinger continues to intersect clinical practice, surgical robotics research, and artificial intelligence initiatives. His research portfolio reflects modern trends in precision surgical oncology, emphasizing the integration of technology-driven approaches to improve operative outcomes and multidisciplinary coordination in cancer care delivery.
Within NRG’s evolving leadership structure, Dr. Holsinger will collaborate with Committee Chair Dr. Sue Yom and Vice Chairs Drs. Stuart Wong and Neil Hayes to strategically expand the head and neck cancer research portfolio. This encompasses refining surgical trial design, enhancing data collection, and promoting surgeon engagement in the broader cooperative group context, further bridging subspecialty expertise with translational oncology.
These leadership appointments reinforce NRG Oncology’s foundational mission: to conduct multi-institutional, practice-changing clinical and translational research across a spectrum of adult cancers. Built upon the legacies of iconic trials groups including NSABP, RTOG, and GOG, the organization leverages a vast network of multidisciplinary investigators—medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, surgeons, pathologists, physicists, statisticians, and more. The breadth and depth of this collaborative infrastructure enable the conduct of complex, large-scale studies that inform standards of care globally.
Funding and infrastructure support from the National Cancer Institute empower NRG Oncology to design and execute clinical trials with specific emphases, such as gender-specific malignancies and localized or locally advanced tumors. The group’s integrated approach acknowledges the heterogeneity of cancer biology and patient populations, necessitating nuanced trial designs informed by highly engaged leadership in both patient advocacy and surgical innovation.
Ultimately, the appointments of Ms. Leighn and Dr. Holsinger symbolize a synergistic advancement for NRG Oncology, promoting pathways where patient-centered communication strategies and cutting-edge surgical research converge. As personalized oncology continues to evolve, such leadership ensures that multidisciplinary teams address not only the biological complexities of cancer but also the human elements essential to translating research into tangible improvements in patient outcomes.
NRG Oncology’s open call for leadership roles signals the ongoing opportunity for experts and advocates to shape the future directions of clinical trials research. Their commitment to transparent, inclusive, and innovative governance remains a cornerstone of their strategy to accelerate discoveries that revolutionize cancer treatment paradigms worldwide.
Subject of Research: Leadership appointments in clinical research committees focused on patient advocacy and surgical oncology within NRG Oncology.
Web References:
www.nrgoncology.org/Current-Openings
www.nrgoncology.org
Keywords: NRG Oncology, patient advocate leadership, surgical oncology, head and neck cancer, clinical trials, cancer research, patient-centered research, surgical credentialing, multidisciplinary oncology, translational research, National Cancer Institute, NCTN.
