The PQI Podcast

Before every breakthrough in oncology, there’s phase I research — where innovation, teamwork, and patient trust come together.

In this episode, Dr. R. Donald Harvey, PharmD, BCOP, FCCP, FHOPA, FASCO, Vice President of Clinical Research and Executive Director of the Emory Clinical Research Office, joins hosts Ginger Blackmon, PharmD, and Maddy Floysand, PharmD, for an inside look at how early-phase clinical trials lay the groundwork for new cancer therapies.

Dr. Harvey, also Professor of Hematology/Medical Oncology and Pharmacology and Associate Dean for Clinical Research at Emory University, shares how phase I studies are evolving to balance discovery, safety, and patient care while expanding access beyond academic centers.

He talks about:

• How early-phase trials shape the future of oncology treatments
• Collaboration between academic and community sites to improve access and equity
• The vital role of pharmacists in study design, safety, and education
• How AI and data are changing trial design and patient matching
• Advice for clinicians and students interested in research careers

Dr. Harvey also reflects on the teamwork that drives meaningful progress and what continues to inspire him after decades of leading research that connects science to patient impact.

In cancer care, ethical challenges rarely come with easy answers.
When should treatment stop? How do teams manage moral distress? And what happens when AI begins to shape clinical decisions?

In this episode, Dr. Nico Nortjé, Executive Director for the Center for Clinical Ethics in Cancer Care at MD Anderson Cancer Center, joins host Ginger to explore how oncology professionals navigate those moments when medical facts and human emotions collide.

Dr. Nortjé shares what he’s learned from leading ethics consultations, guiding care teams through end-of-life discussions, moral distress, and the new ethical questions raised by technology.

You’ll learn:

• How to recognize and address moral distress before it leads to burnout
• How ethics consults can turn uncertainty into team alignment
• How to approach treatment-limiting conversations with empathy
• What to consider when AI starts influencing care decisions

Listen for a grounded, thoughtful look at what ethics really means in oncology today.

We talk a lot about caring for patients — but what about caring for ourselves?

This week, Ginger sits down with Amy Morin, LCSW, for an honest conversation about what mental strength really looks like in oncology practice. From navigating grief and burnout to finding balance between empathy and endurance, Amy shares real strategies to stay steady when the work feels heavy.

A psychotherapist and bestselling author of 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do, Amy brings both research and personal experience to the table. She and Ginger dig into how to manage compassion fatigue, reframe negative thoughts, and use practical tools, like taking out the mental trash, pleasant activity scheduling, and the two-minute gratitude flash, to build strength day to day.

Amy also shares how her own story of loss led to her work helping others, plus a peek into her upcoming Mentally Strong app and The Mental Strength Playbook.

When Dr. Rupa Gupta set out to open Lotus Oncology & Hematology, she wanted more than a clinic — she wanted a sanctuary. 

In this episode of the PQI Podcast, Dr. Gupta shares how she built a practice that blends evidence-based treatment with compassion, mindfulness, and community connection. She discusses designing a healing environment filled with light and art, integrating therapies like acupuncture, yoga, and art therapy, and building a culture where staff well-being and patient dignity go hand in hand. 

Tune in to hear:

• How thoughtful design and empathy transform the patient experience
• Integrative therapies that support quality of life
• Ways to strengthen team connection and reduce burnout
• Why accessibility and trust are key to meaningful, patient-centered care

Life didn’t pause when Ashley Cartun was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer in 2023. She was teaching college full-time, raising two kids under six, and traveling to support her husband’s NCAA basketball season. Then came five months of chemotherapy and multiple surgeries — and the work of staying whole while everything changed. 

In this episode, Ashley shares what truly helped: friends who sat with her during infusions, care teams who explained what each step would feel like, and the surprising calm she found in sound baths. That healing experience led her to create Heal with Ashley, offering sound therapy and support to other survivors. 

She also talks about catching her cancer early, her advocacy with the American Cancer Society and TNBC Thrivers, and what it means when healthcare teams connect beyond test results. 

This episode opens Breast Cancer Awareness Month with a powerful reminder of the small things that change a patient’s journey — and the hope that follows. 

What do pharmacy, the United Nations, and a love of art have in common? For Dr. Ornesha Watson, Associate Director at Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation, global health advocate, and cancer survivor, each step has shaped her passion for equity and patient-centered care.

In this episode, she talks about growing up in Jamaica, working in international health, and how both her father’s cancer diagnosis and her own shaped her passion for advocacy and equity. Ornesha shares what healthcare teams can do to move beyond “transactional care,” why hope is a critical part of treatment, and her vision for expanding cancer services across Jamaica and the Caribbean.

In this conversation, you’ll hear:

• How her experiences in pharmacy and public health come together in her patient advocacy
• Why hope matters just as much as medicine in cancer care
• Practical ways healthcare teams can better support patients
• Her mission to reduce disparities and expand cancer services in the Caribbean

How can genetic insights change the way we treat cancer?

In this episode of the PQI Podcast, Dr. Soni Tuteja, Director of Pharmacogenomics at Penn Medicine, shares how her team put pharmacogenomic testing into practice — and the impact it’s had on patients. She highlights findings from her Journal of Clinical Oncology article on DPYD and UGT1A1 testing in GI cancers, showing how pre-treatment testing helped reduce toxicities, guide dose adjustments, and support safer therapy.

Listeners will also hear about:

• Practical strategies to expand and sustain pharmacogenetic testing in real-world settings
• How pharmacists can lead patient counseling and program implementation
• The role of NCODA’s Positive Quality Interventions (PQIs), like DPYD testing before fluoropyrimidine treatment, in helping teams deliver safer, more personalized care

Cancer now accounts for nearly two-thirds of firefighter line-of-duty deaths — a risk that extends long after the sirens fade. After 25 years with the Georgetown, Kentucky Fire Department, retired Chief Tim Thompson has made it his mission to change the way fire service approaches cancer prevention.

On this episode of The PQI Podcast, Chief Thompson shares how his department integrated advanced cancer screenings into firefighter health programs, gained city support to secure sustainable funding, and launched a nonprofit to cover screenings for retirees. He also reflects on the leadership lessons that shaped his career and why prevention must be built into the culture of service.

Now in retirement, he’s focused on helping departments nationwide establish lasting cancer screening programs that protect firefighters throughout their careers and beyond.

Listen for a conversation on leadership, prevention, and building programs that save lives.

On this episode of the PQI Podcast, we sit down with Jenny Hoang, PharmD, a 2024 graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and pharmacist at Texas Oncology. Jenny shares how her uncle’s cancer diagnosis inspired her career — and how she’s already making an impact through an innovative pilot program that brings the Five Love Languages into oncology care.

This 6-week program, developed in collaboration with social workers, helps patients and their partners strengthen communication during treatment. The results have been powerful: reduced anxiety, greater emotional support, and even one couple saying it “saved their marriage.”

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• How love languages can be adapted into cancer care.
• Why pharmacists are uniquely positioned to support patients beyond medications.
• The measurable benefits patients and caregivers experienced from this pilot.
• How programs like this connect to NCODA’s PQI mission of improving quality of life.

We are thrilled to open Season 9 of the PQI Podcast with a powerful episode featuring Deborah Wong, MD, PhD, Associate Clinical Professor at UCLA and Director of the Head and Neck Medical Oncology Program.

This conversation spans the full spectrum of oncology care — from groundbreaking trial data to the everyday realities of supporting patients, families, and care teams. Dr. Wong offers a timely look at what’s new in head and neck cancer while also sharing her thoughtful approach to compassionate care.

In this episode, Dr. Wong discusses:

• The Keynote-689 trial and FDA approval of pembrolizumab for resectable head and neck cancer.
• Tailoring treatment for HPV-positive vs. HPV-negative disease.
• Emerging therapies such as antibody-drug conjugates.
• Quality of life challenges, including speech, swallowing, and survivorship.
• Supporting caregivers as the “unsung heroes” of cancer care.
• Strategies for preventing burnout and fostering resilience in oncology practice.