Hoosier Cancer Research Network (HCRN) received the Indiana Cancer Consortium (ICC) Sustained Excellence Award during the ICC’s 2021 Annual Meeting on April 21. The award is presented to organizations that have longstanding contributions to the consortium and recent notable achievements.

The ICC launched from a shared vision of the Indiana State Department of Health, the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, and the American Cancer Society, Great Lakes Division. Over the past decade, the ICC has grown to include more than 400 members, including organizations and individuals, who work collaboratively to reduce Indiana’s cancer burden.

HCRN Executive Director Cyndi Burkhardt, RN, participated in the development of the Indiana Cancer Control Plan 2005-2008, working alongside the late Stephen Williams, MD, director of the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center, and many other individuals on the comprehensive statewide plan. Burkhardt also participated in the 2010-2014 and 2018-2020 updates to the plan.

As a member of the ICC’s Advocacy Committee, Burkhardt helped ensure patient perspectives were represented in committee discussions. She also served on the Treatment, Access and Utilization Committee, which recognized clinical trials as a key aspect of comprehensive cancer treatment. Burkhardt and her colleagues in the ICC were instrumental in developing and championing the successful passage in 2009 of HB 1382, a state law that requires health insurers to provide coverage for routine costs associated with participation in clinical trials.

“Over the years, the ICC has had significant accomplishments in the areas of patient advocacy and access to clinical trials statewide,” Burkhardt said. “We are honored to receive this recognition, and we are grateful that the ICC continues to recognize the important role that clinical trials serve in improving the lives of cancer patients in Indiana.”

About Hoosier Cancer Research Network:

Hoosier Cancer Research Network (formerly known as Hoosier Oncology Group) conducts innovative cancer research in collaboration with academic and community physicians and scientists across the United States. The organization provides comprehensive clinical trial management and support, from conception through publication. Created in 1984 as a program of the Walther Cancer Institute, Hoosier Cancer Research Network became an independent nonprofit clinical research organization in 2007. Since its founding, Hoosier Cancer Research Network has conducted more than 230 trials in a variety of cancer types and supportive care, resulting in more than 350 publications. More than 9,000 subjects have participated in Hoosier Cancer Research Network clinical trials.