Karen Knudsen: Curing Cancer through Research and Advocacy

Karen Knudsen, Executive Strategic Advisor and Immediate Past CEO of the American Cancer Society (ACS), reshared a post by Sophia Ononye, on LinkedIn:

“Thank you Sophia Ononye, for asking me to speak, and for amplifying the importance of innovation!!!

It was a joy and a pleasure.”

Quoting Sophia Ononye‘s post:

““We will cure cancer through research and advocacy”, inspirational words from Karen Knudsen MBA PhD, CEO of the American Cancer Society during her Season 4 feature on the Amplifying Scientific Innovation Video Podcast. I couldn’t agree more!

I spent more than a decade in the lab studying both solid tumors and blood cancers starting from my National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experience for Undergraduate internship at The Ohio State University to my doctorate studies in medicinal chemistry at the University of Connecticut to my postdoctoral training at Yale University. I believe that resilience pays off and our concerted efforts to leave the world better than it was will pay off, especially as AI and patient-centered care becomes integrated in healthcare research and delivery.

Serendipitously, I reached out to the beloved Dr. K last week when she posted about her transition plans and she responded with an encouraging, THANK YOU for all you do. I’m grateful for leaders, friends, and supporters who continue to support my scrappy mission of Amplifying Scientific Innovation®. As she moves on to spearhead new opportunities, I am grateful that I had a chance to memorialize our conversation in time and space, particularly as she had newly joined the ACS during our initial conversation.

I’m also thrilled by new patient-centered advocacy campaigns like the “Change the Odds: Uniting to Improve Cancer Outcomes,” a three-year initiative between the ACS and Pfizer aimed at addressing cancer disparities and improving health outcomes in medically underrepresented communities across the United States, particularly for the one in three people who will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime.

Remarkably, I started out my career as a Pfizer scientist and it’s a full circle moment to integrate my foundations in cancer research with patient-centered storytelling.

THANK YOU to all the people in our networks who lift us up and remind us of our purpose. I look forward to sharing more insights from the 65 featured guests in the series and other insights from my interdisciplinary and international journey The mission continues!

Click here to watch the video of –The Sophia Consulting Firm.

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Watch the full video here.”

Karen E. Knudsen is the Executive Strategic Advisor and Immediate Past CEO of the American Cancer Society (ACS). Prior to joining ACS, Dr. Knudsen served as executive vice president of Oncology Services and enterprise director for Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson Health. She also served as president for the Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI) and on the board of directors of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). She serves on the board of advisors for the National Cancer Institute and on 12 external advisory boards for NCI-designated cancer centers. She is an active member of several committees with the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO), in addition to serving on other academic and for-profit advisory boards.