This month, Hoosier Cancer Research Network features our member institution Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo., and Jian Li Campian, MD, PhD, a medical oncologist with specialization in neuro-oncology and immunotherapy.

Research Interests and Expertise:

Dr. Campian, an associate professor of medicine and neurological surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is a member of the HCRN Breast Cancer Clinical Trial Working Group.

She is a neuro-oncologist who develops and leads clinical trials for patients with primary and metastatic brain tumors. Her research focus is developing novel immunotherapeutic strategies in Central Nervous System (CNS) tumors. Her research interests include new drug development in high grade gliomas and how to correct treatment-related lymphopenia—or lower-than-normal number of lymphocytes—or white blood cells from treatment.

In the past, Dr. Campian and her collaborators have demonstrated treatment-related lymphopenia is common, severe, and long lasting in a variety of solid tumors such as glioblastoma, non-small cell lung cancer, head and neck squamous carcinoma, pancreatic cancer, and rectal cancer. In these cases, most patients died from tumor progression, not infections.

Dr. Campian is board certified in internal medicine and medical oncology and is Co-Leader of the Neuro-Oncology Focus Group at Siteman Cancer Center and is an advisor of the Cancer Center’s Quality Assurance and Safety Monitoring Committee. She is also a member of several medical oncology societies, including the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the Society of Neuro-Oncology.

Educational Background:

• Medical School: Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, P.R. of China
• Residency: Internal Medicine, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, New Hyde Park, NY
• Fellowship: Hematology and Medical Oncology, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD
• PhD: pharmacology and toxicology, University of Louisville, Louisville, Ky
• Postdoctoral Training: University of Louisville, Department of Medicine, James Graham Brown Cancer Center, Louisville, Ky
• MS: Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Louisville, Louisville, Ky
• MS: Pathophysiology, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, P.R. China

Three facts about Dr. Campian:

• Her favorite sport is skiing and she travels every year to Colorado to ski.
• She enjoys listening to music and dancing with friends.
• She believes the best relaxation is reading books on the beach.

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.