NRG Oncology appoints new vice-chairs for their patient advocate committee

NRG Oncology (NRG), a National Cancer Institute (NCI) National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) group focused on improving outcomes for adults with cancer through multi-center clinical research, recently announced two new Vice-Chairs to co-lead the NRG Patient Advocate Committee (PAC) alongside the current PAC Committee Chair, Dorothy Erlanger.

Marlyn Molero, was appointed as Vice-Chair of the NRG PAC. Marlyn is a clinical researcher in the oncology area with Commonspirit Research Institute as well as a Spanish interpreter at Vituity. Marlyn brings a unique perspective to the NRG PAC leadership as she previously obtained her Obstetrics and Gynecologic degree from the Universidad Central de Venezuela where she practiced for 14 years before moving to the United States. She remains a collaborative professor of OB/GYN, with an emphasis on gynecologic and surgical techniques, at the Perez Carreno Hospital/Central University of Venezuela where she previously served as Vice-Chair of their Academic Committee. Marlyn is in the process of cementing her qualifications in the U.S. healthcare system in order to obtain her medical license. She is driven by a personal mission to utilize her experiences in the U.S. and Venezuelan healthcare landscapes to shape a better pathway for cancer care, especially for underserved and diverse populations. Marlyn specializes in ensuring clear and compassionate communications across all levels of patient care and research. Outside of her day-to-day profession, Marlyn also works as a Spanish interpreter in the emergency room of a community hospital on the central coast of California. In addition to her involvement on the NRG PAC committee, Marlyn is also a member of the NRG Gynecologic Oncology Committee.

Tambre Leighn, was also appointed as Vice-Chair of the NRG PAC. Tambre is a highly regarded consultant, trainer, and speaker in the healthcare industry. She holds a Master of Communications from Loyola Marymount University and is a Certified Professional Coach.

Tambre’s work as an advocate and professionally through her company, Well Beyond Ordinary, is the legacy of her late husband who died of Hodgkin’s disease when he was only 37 years old. Her focus is on improving patient communication, engagement, and adherence through innovative coaching-based solutions. In 2018, Tambre’s Patient Adherence Training Program was a semi-finalist in the Astellas Innovative Patient Support Solutions C3 Competition.

In addition to her patient-focused work, Tambre consults on clinical trials and provides leadership and communication training to specialty pharmacies, nurse call centers, and healthcare professionals. She has worked for organizations such as Stanford Health Care, Genentech, Amazon Health, Keep A Breast Foundation, and Weill Cornell. She also chaired the 7th Annual Patient Adherence and Advocacy Summit. Most recently, Tambre presented a poster, “Ask Me!: Transforming Patient Communication to Improve Enrollment & Adherence in Clinical Trials and Cancer Care” at the 2024 American Association for Cancer Research Conference.

Tambre has been a highly engaged advocate for over twelve years. She was a Peer Stakeholder Grant Reviewer for the American Cancer Society’s New Drug Discovery Committee and an advocate for NCI’s Lymphoma Steering Committee. Since 2017, she’s been an advocate with Knight Cancer Institute at OHSU and is part of their international project, ACED, focused on early cancer detection. At NRG, Tambre is also actively involved in the organization’s Cancer Care Delivery and Research (CCDR) Committee as well as the Communications Committee.

NRG is incredibly grateful for the many years of service and several contributions of outgoing committee Vice-Chairs, Tom Simon and Pat Halpin Murphy. Tom and Pat’s leadership, guidance, and experience helped NRG’s PAC grow roots within the organization’s infrastructure and prosper into the committee it is today.

About NRG Oncology
NRG Oncology conducts practice-changing, multi-institutional clinical and translational research to improve the lives of patients with cancer. Founded in 2012, NRG Oncology is a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit corporation that integrates the research of the legacy National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP), Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG), and Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) programs. The research network seeks to carry out clinical trials with emphases on gender-specific malignancies, including gynecologic, breast, and prostate cancers, and on localized or locally advanced cancers of all types. NRG Oncology’s extensive research organization comprises multidisciplinary investigators, including medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, surgeons, physicists, pathologists, and statisticians, and encompasses more than 1,300 research sites located world-wide with predominance in the United States and Canada. NRG Oncology is supported primarily through grants from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and is one of five research groups in the NCI’s National Clinical Trials Network.

www.nrgoncology.org