ASHLAND, Ky. — Local physician Dr. Anshu Jain, a radiation oncologist with the Ashland Bellefonte Cancer Center and faculty member at the Yale School of Medicine, was chosen to lead one of 23 teams in the nation for the Teams in cancer care delivery project, a joint-initiative of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

Jain leads a team of clinicians and researchers based at Yale and Brown universities, including members of the Yale School of Medicine, School of Public Health, and School of Management. Their team also includes patient advocates from the University of California – San Francisco. The team members are working together to develop models for multi-disciplinary cancer care with a special focus on breast cancer care. As a part of participation in the project, his team will also develop presentations to be delivered at the ASCO Quality Symposium in Phoenix, and manuscripts that will be peer-reviewed for inclusion in the Journal of Oncology Practice.

“I am honored to be selected for this special project, and to lead such a talented group of people for a project which will have wide application in delivering better cancer care. Many of my experiences treating patients right here in the Tri-State have inspired me to improve cancer care in our community. Being selected is a testament to the quality of care and coordination of care we deliver at the Ashland Bellefonte Cancer Center,” says Jain.

The NCI-ASCO Teams in Cancer Care Projects will apply the most recent scientific findings about teamwork, effectiveness, and team performance to the oncology care setting, with the goal of increasing the overall effectiveness of health care teams- a goal that is of vital importance as oncology continues to move to a more multidisciplinary team-based program.