Expanding IU’s Reach

IN HIS NEARLY five years as director of the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center, Kelvin Lee, MD, has steered the place out of a pandemic, invigorated an idle immunotherapy program and, of late, sought to navigate the vexing uncertainties of a chaotic federal grant funding pipeline.

Less obvious, until you look closely, is what Lee and the cancer center’s 340-some researchers have been doing to expand the center’s outreach to far-flung corners of Indiana.

That includes barbershops and churches in urban neighborhoods. In rural areas, where primary care physicians are sparse, teams are working with local pharmacists to dispense nicotine replacement products to reduce tobacco use. They’re working with clinics in those same communities to promote screening for colorectal cancer. Researchers are exploring the cancer risks Indiana farmers face from “forever chemicals” in pesticides. And a newly launched mobile lung cancer screening unit first visited counties with the state’s highest incidents of lung cancer deaths.

“It was strategic,” Lee said. “It makes the biggest impact.”

Those two words — strategic and impact — capture much of the work of Lee’s time on the job. In a framework document he authored shortly after being hired in 2020, Lee, the H.H. Gregg Professor of Oncology, wrote that the cancer center must acknowledge the limitations of “the model where patients have to come to the Ivory Tower.” Instead, he said, it’s vital to bring care to the people. To that end, he created a 10-member Office of Community Outreach and Engagement to share with the public what researchers are learning about cancer and to better glean what the cancer concerns are in various communities.

Along with these grassroot efforts, Lee has sought to raise the center’s profile. For all its renown as the home of the cure for testicular cancer and its status as Indiana’s only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, Lee found the cancer center’s visibility to be lacking.

One high-profile effort involved launching a bold ad campaign at the Indianapolis International Airport, touting the center’s impact and its resolve in fighting cancer. Lee has also tapped into areas that are quintessentially Hoosier. The center sponsored race cars — emblazoned with bold cancer center logo graphics — that have zoomed around Indianapolis Motor Speedway and other tracks. It has hosted information tents at the Indiana State Fair. And the cancer center logo is being featured inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall at IU basketball games this season as part of a new ad campaign.

“A lot of that,” Lee said, “is making the public aware of what we are and what we have done.”

Awareness has never been more important than in 2025. The White House’s proposed budget earlier this year featured dramatic cuts in funding for National Institutes of Health grants, which have long been the lifeblood of advanced medical research, especially in cancer. Since then, Lee and other IU leaders have found themselves pressed into making the case to public officials.

“If people don’t know you exist and they don’t know why you are important, then when things come up — like federal funding, state funding — that impact what we do, nobody thinks of us,” Lee said. Upon taking the job as cancer center director, Lee set some ambitious 10-year goals. One of them was seeing the center crack the top 10 nationally in research funding. Five years in, the rankings have improved, but there’s work to do. Uncertainty at the NIH further complicates matters.

“I think we can get there,” Lee said. “We have the talent to do it. It’s just navigating all these other things on top of that.”

Aside from raising its profile and extending its reach, IU completed the rigorous process of renewing the National Cancer Institute’s comprehensive cancer center designation. Under Lee’s watch, the center has also made substantial progress in other key areas.

IU School of Medicine Dean Jay L. Hess said Lee came to IU with a clear vision about the importance of prevention, the belief that research saves lives, the importance of being patient-focused and the need to take cancer care across the state. Hess also credits Lee with being a recruiter of talented people and someone successful in philanthropy.

“Dr. Lee is a very inspiring leader,” he said.

Through the highs and lows, Lee has retained his charm and upbeat outlook. He’s become a fan of auto racing and checkered flag bow ties, learned how to drive a tractor at a donor event, tried line dancing and arranged competitive pumpkin carving contests for cancer center members. But the real joy, he said, is being engaged with work you believe in.
“This has not exactly been smooth sailing over crystal clear, tranquil waters,” he said, “but it’s been a lot of fun.”

To explore ways you can support the IU Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center’s mission to prevent, treat and cure cancer, please contact Amber Kleopfer Senseny at akleopfe@iu.edu.