Longtime University of Colorado Cancer Center staff member Stacy Grolnic, RN, BSN, has been named the center’s assistant director of clinical research. In this newly created role, Grolnic will work to integrate the multiple cancer clinical trial groups performing cancer clinical research across the CU Anschutz Medical Campus, including researchers at the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center and Children’s Hospital Colorado.
“As our clinical system continues to expand and cancer clinical research becomes increasingly resource intensive, this role within the cancer center is timely and reflects the complex and exciting field of cancer clinical research,” says Chris Lieu, MD, associate director of clinical research at the CU Cancer Center. “This new position will also help the cancer center push forward strategic priorities such as increasing clinical trial access, shortening opening timelines, expanding cell-based therapies, and ensuring clear communication across our consortium sites.”
Trials important to advancing research
Grolnic, who previously served as program director of the cancer center’s Oncology Clinical Research Support Team, has been with the CU Cancer Center for more than 20 years. With a longtime interest in clinical research, she is looking forward to the challenges and responsibilities of her new position.
“The position is designed to align all of our different clinical research groups and help with different initiatives that cross clinical trial groups — within our main clinical trials office, but also working with smaller teams that might not report up through the clinical trials office,” she says.
The need for such a role is evidence of the growing role of clinical trials in researching ways to treat and defeat cancer, Grolnic says.
“Like a lot of cancer centers across the country, we have more trials and more staff than we’ve ever had before, because the trials are becoming more specific,” she says. “More and more trials are looking for a specific molecular target or genetic mutation or some other biomarker to drive enrollment, not necessarily the cancer type. We have a larger set of trials for what can be seen as a narrower patient population. We need to look at all of that and make sure we've got the right mix for our patients.”
That mix includes nationwide clinical trials in which the CU Cancer Center takes part, as well as investigator-initiated trials — “homegrown” ideas from CU Cancer Center researchers and investigators who are active in lab and clinical settings. The sponsor investigator of the trial not only sponsors the study, but also conducts it.
“That's a program I oversaw in my previous role, and I'm excited to continue its growth and success,” Grolnic says. “I'm very proud of the work our team has done to build the portfolio of those specific trials.”
All about the patients
Grolnic trained as a nurse and first worked with cancer patients at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, where she fell in love with oncology. She was working as a nurse at the infusion center at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital when she was recruited to work on the cancer center’s clinical research team, and she soon saw the impact successful clinical trials can have on the lives of cancer patients.
“I'll never forget some of my patients from those early phase 1 studies,” she says. “One was a young dad with stage 4 melanoma, and he had a complete response. He stayed on study with us for years. When he started, his goal was to see his kids get through high school, and now he seen them all grow up and get married. I love patients and their stories, and I love the dynamic part of clinical research. Every day is different.”
