5th Annual Linda Floyd Forum Program
Welcome
Raymond DuBois, M.D., Ph.D.
Opening Remarks
Linda Floyd
Andrea Abbott, M.D.
Panel Discussion
Whitney Graybill, M.D.
Marvella Ford, Ph.D.
Andrea Abbott, M.D.
Sarah Tucker Price, M.D., Ph.D.
Question & Answers From Attendees
Patient Testimonial
Natalie Coxe
Closing Remarks
Ann E. Rice Ervin
Final Announcements and Door Prize Drawing
Andrea Abbott, M.D.
Special thanks to Wellness Ally for the door prize donation.
Panelists and Special Guests
Linda Floyd
Linda Floyd describes herself as a grateful and humbled cancer survivor. She was diagnosed with endometrial cancer in 2007 and has since been in remission. Today, Mrs. Floyd is heavily involved in her community, including a mentoring program at Coastal Carolina University for elementary students in Horry and Georgetown counties. For 15 years, she was passionately involved on a state committee for Safety on College Campuses, sponsored by the South Carolina Higher Education Foundation, where she addressed campus safety issues for all facets of campus life. She currently serves on the MUSC Hollings Cancer Center Advisory Board and focuses on the fight against cancer by providing information that can help women (and others) be mindful and knowledgeable about the disease. A native of Lake City, S.C., she has lived in Murrells Inlet for the past 46 years with her husband, Dalton. They have three sons, two daughters-in-law, and two yellow labs, Cam and Enzo.
Andrea M. Abbott, M.D., MSCR, FACS
Andrea M. Abbott, M.D., MSCR, FACS, is a board certified surgical oncologist who specializes in the surgical treatment of soft tissue cancer including: breast cancer, melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers, and sarcoma. She is the medical director of the Jenny Sullivan Sanford Melanoma & Skin Cancer Program at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center, which is one of only 14 Melanoma Centers of Excellence in the United States. Dr. Abbott received her medical degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She completed a general surgery residency at the University of Minnesota and received her masters degree in clinical research. She completed a two-year fellowship in surgical oncology at Moffitt Cancer Center. Dr. Abbott is committed to engaging patients in their treatment decisions and delivering personalized care.
Natalie Coxe
Natalie Coxe was diagnosed with stage 3C ovarian cancer at the age of 19. She began spreading awareness of this disease and its unlikely effect on young women. Her advocacy work led her to partner with the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance in Washington, D.C., where she focused her efforts on creating a guidebook for young women facing ovarian cancer. After graduating from Wofford College with a degree in business economics, Natalie began working for MUSC's Office of Development. She is the Associate Director of Planned Giving, providing her the "full circle" opportunity to assist others in making impactful gifts to a place that holds special meaning in her heart. In her free time, Natalie enjoys traveling the state to share her story to emphasize awareness for ovarian cancer and the early signs and symptoms. She is a published author and soon-to-be mother, two honors that give her more joy than she can put into words.
Raymond N. DuBois, M.D., Ph.D.
Raymond N. DuBois, M.D., Ph.D., was named Dean of the College of Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina in 2016, and in 2020 he was named Director of MUSC Hollings Cancer Center as well. Prior to these positions, Dr. DuBois served as Executive Director of the Biodesign Institute in Arizona (ASU) and held the Dalton Chair of Chemistry and Biochemistry with a joint appointment as Professor of Medicine in the Mayo College of Medicine. From 2007 to 2012, he served as Provost and Executive Vice President at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and held the Ellen Knisely Distinguished Chair in Colon Cancer Research. During his tenure at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (1991-2007) he served as Director of the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition as well as Director of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. He also was selected to hold three successive endowed chairs at Vanderbilt including the Mina Cobb Wallace Chair, the Hortense B. Ingram Chair and the Benjamin F. Byrd Chair. In 2015 he was honored at Vanderbilt by inclusion as an honorary member in the Tinsley Harrison Society at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
Dr. DuBois is an internationally renowned expert and is known for his work elucidating the role of inflammation and inflammatory mediators in the progression of colon cancer. His laboratory examines the molecular mechanisms by which inflammatory mediators affect epithelial biology, the tumor microenvironment and cancerization. In the 1990s, Dr. DuBois and his colleagues made the landmark discovery that colorectal tumors contained high levels of a key enzyme (COX-2) which regulates prostaglandin production. COX-2 catalyzes a key step in the production of pro-inflammatory mediators leading to the production of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). This work and other studies unveiled a better understanding of the role of anti-inflammatory agents, like aspirin, in reducing cancer risk which led to clinical trials, showing how drugs that inhibit this pathway could prevent or intercept the process of cancer development. More recent studies have revealed that PGE2 regulates the immune status of the tumor microenvironment and inhibitors of PGE2 signaling block tumor metastasis and cancer progression.
Dr. DuBois was elected as a member of the National Academy of Medicine in October of 2019 and currently is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Royal College of Physicians (London) and the Academy of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR); and in 2019, he was awarded the AACR Margaret Foti Award for Leadership and Extraordinary Achievements in Cancer Research. Other major awards for his cancer research include the Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Research Award, the Dorothy P. Landon-AACR Cancer Prize and the Anthony Dipple Carcinogenesis Award given by Oxford University Press.
He is a past president of AACR, the Southern Society for Clinical Investigation, and the International Society for Gastrointestinal Cancer. He currently serves as President and Chair of the AACR Foundation Board. In 2018, he was named to the steering committee for the AACR Academy, and selected as a Vice Chair for the Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C) Scientific Advisory Board. He is also a member of the American Clinical and Climatological Association, the Association of American Physicians and the American Society for Clinical Investigation.
Dr. DuBois also serves as an editor-in-chief for Cancer Prevention Research, published by AACR. During his career as a physician-scientist, he has published over 160 peer reviewed research articles, more than 60 review articles, 25 book chapters, and three books. His work has been cited over 60,000 times according to Google Scholar (H-index=114).
He is also a co-inventor of a method to identify and target cellular genes needed for viral growth as well as cellular genes that function as tumor suppressors in mammals.
DuBois earned a bachelor’s degree (biochemistry w/honors) from Texas A&M University and a doctoral degree (biochemistry) from The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. He obtained a medical degree from The University of Texas School of Medicine in San Antonio, followed by completion of an Osler Medicine internship/residency, and a gastroenterology fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. In 2007 he was honored at Hopkins by being inducted into the Johns Hopkins University Society of Scholars.
Ann E. Rice Ervin, J.D.
Ann E. Rice Ervin, J.D., represents victims injured by harmful pharmaceutical drugs and defective medical devices, working to hold accountable those responsible for corporate wrongdoing and inadequate product warning, research and testing. Ann’s advocacy for the vulnerable includes representing children who developed defects in utero after their mothers took Zofran® to treat pregnancy-related nausea and vomiting. She also represents patients who were diagnosed with melanoma after taking Viagra®, Cialis or other PDE5 Inhibitors to treat erectile dysfunction and pulmonary arterial hypertension, a type of blood pressure condition. In addition, Ann has played an instrumental role in the firm’s handling of pharmaceutical litigation regarding medical drugs Zoloft®, Lipitor® and Actos® as well as dialysis products GranuFlo® Powder and NaturaLyte® Liquid acid concentrates.
Ann joined Motley Rice as an associate after first serving for two years as a law clerk for a New York plaintiffs’ law firm while simultaneously earning a Master of Arts degree in Bioethics from New York University. As a law clerk, she gained experience conducting legal research and analysis for complex environmental litigation involving landfills, toxic spills, vapor intrusion and water contamination. The combination of her legal skills and knowledge of the bioethics field, specifically as it relates to the world of medicine, is an asset in litigation on behalf of medical clients. While earning her bioethics degree, Ann interned with the Ethics Committee and Ethics Consultation Service at the Medical University of South Carolina, which she joined in 2012 as a Community Representative to help facilitate discussions among patients, families and hospital staff in an effort to resolve ethical conflicts. She continues to be involved with the committee as a complement to her work in the legal field.
In 2011 and 2012, Ann worked as a research assistant on an experimental philosophy study determining the role of bioethics in clinicians’ moral reasoning, specifically examining clinicians at three Charleston hospitals. This project was ultimately chosen to be part of Yale University’s Experiment Month contest.
During law school, Ann worked as an intern for Washington Governor Christine O. Gregoire. She also served as a summer special project research assistant with Duke University School of Law and focused her research on exploring whether the law imposes barriers or obligations to medical providers who wish to treat illegal immigrants for ethical reasons.
Ann currently serves as a faculty member at MUSC as part of the distinguished Clinical and Translational Research Ethics Fellowship program, where she regularly speaks. She also has spoken regarding women’s leadership in litigation, including being a part of the Women’s Panel at Mass Torts Made Perfect.
She has volunteered for organizations that include the Palmetto Health Richland Memorial Hospital, Relay-for-Life, Meals on Wheels, The Angel Tree and Project Clean Carolina. She also actively supports the Dee Norton Child Advocacy Center and the Medical University of South Carolina Children’s Hospital.
An equestrian since 1988 and national level competitor in the hunters/jumpers division since 1994, she has been ranked nationally in her division for the past 20 years.
Marvella Ford, Ph.D.
Marvella Ford, Ph.D., holds a dual appointment at the Medical University of South Carolina and South Carolina State University (SCSU), a Historically Black College/University (HBCU). At MUSC, Dr. Ford is a Professor of Public Health Sciences and serves as the Associate Director of Cancer Disparities at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center. Dr. Ford was appointed to Professor in the Department of Biological and Physical Sciences at SCSU in 2017. Dr. Ford’s research focuses on personal and socioeconomic factors impacting cancer screening and detection among underserved and minority populations such as race, gender, and education. She studies the impact of targeted interventions on health care behavior and methods for improving informed decision making for cancer screening, specifically prostate cancer. Dr. Ford serves as the Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator on several multi-institution training grants with HBCU’s across the state including SCSU. She has mentored over 30 individuals including undergraduate students and faculty members in an effort to develop a cancer education pipeline of scholars to address cancer disparities research and care.
Whitney Graybill, M.D.
Whitney Graybill, M.D., joined MUSC Women's Care as a gynecologist oncologist in 2010. Dr. Graybill graduated undergrad from Vanderbilt University. She graduated medical school from Quillen College of Medicine in Tennessee and residency at the University of Alabama. Dr. Graybill completed her fellowship in gynecologic oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Her interests include minimally invasive robotic surgery, clinical trials, and translational ovarian cancer research.
Sarah Tucker Price, M.D., Ph.D.
Sarah Tucker Price, M.D., Ph.D., is a board-certified family medicine physician who provides primary care services to cancer patients and cancer survivors at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center. She earned her Bachelor's of Science in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology from Yale University and her Medical Degree and Doctorate of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology from the MUSC. She completed her residency training at the Trident and Medical University of South Carolina Family Medicine Residency Program. Her research is focused on cancer survivorship care and cardiovascular risk in breast cancer.
