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St. Jude Science Scholars of Tomorrow

March 4, 2020
Marlo Thomas Center for Global Education and Collaboration
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
262 Danny Thomas Place
Memphis, TN 38105
ScienceScholars@stjude.org

Program Overview

The St. Jude Science Scholars of Tomorrow program, an immersive and interactive one-day event, is designed to give students and teachers an opportunity to see real world application of many of the concepts they cover in the classroom. We also hope to provide students who are interested in science, engineering, math or healthcare a look at the broad range of possibilities for academic and career paths. This program is by invitation only for students, ages 16 and older, and their STEM subject teachers. Students are selected for invitation through a competitive application process that began in September. There is no cost to participate in this program.

Registration

This event is by invitation only and participants must register in advance. There is no registration on the day of the event. For information about how to apply for next year’s St. Jude Science Scholars of Tomorrow event, please sign up for updates on the main Science Scholars of Tomorrow program page.

Infection Control

Because many patients are vulnerable to infections as a result of treatment, visitors who are sick or who have been exposed to contagious illnesses must not attend the Science Scholars event. Visitors experiencing any of the following signs or symptoms should not attend:

  • Temperature of 100.4 degrees or greater in the last 48 hours
  • Vomiting or diarrhea
  • “Pink eye”
  • Rash suggestive of chickenpox, shingles, measles or other viral illness
  • Cold, flu, or respiratory infection (runny nose, congestion, sore throat, or cough)
  • A draining wound
  • A rash after recently receiving the chickenpox vaccine or
  • Have received the oral polio or smallpox vaccine within the previous four weeks

If you have traveled out of the country within the past two months, please report the location and dates of your travel to ScienceScholars@stjude.org.

Directions and Parking

Please download this campus map to assist you in finding the designated entrance gate and parking garage for this event and Marlo Thomas Center. Please download this parking pass to faciliate visitor registration at the entrance gate.

Follow these instructions:

  • Enter St. Jude at the entrance gate located at A.W.Willis and 7th Avenue (just west of the intersection of A.W. Willis and Danny Thomas Blvd).
  • Stay in the left lane nearest the guard shack and register as a visitor. Be prepared to show your driver’s license to the security guard.
  • Place the parking pass on your dashboard so the guard sees that you are visiting for the Science Scholars event.
  • If you are a teacher or student, pull into the first parking garage on your left (Garage #3) using the driveway immediately on your left as you enter campus.
  • If you are a parent, drive straight toward the main campus road and turn right. Navigate to the Marlo Thomas Center in front of you. Drop off your student in the circular drive and then exit campus.

Helpful tips:

  • Please carpool with others from your school if possible. This will ease traffic coming into campus and help with parking.
  • Please allow 10-15 minutes to get through the line to enter campus, register with the guard, find a parking space and walk to the Marlo Thomas Center.
  • Please be very careful driving on campus and always stop for pedestrians in the cross walks.
  • Please be very careful walking across campus and always use cross walks.

Make note of the level you park on as indicated by the color and number of the wall where you exit the garage.

Driving Directions

Agenda

Time Event
Opens at 7:30 am Check-in
8:15 - 8:30 am Group photo for all participants
8:30 - 8:50 am Welcome and Introduction - Kelvin Womack and Charles Roberts, MD, PhD
8:50 - 9:20 am Keynote Speaker - Bill Evans, PharmD, Pharmaceutical Sciences
9:30 am - 12:00 pm Hospital Tour/Speed Careering or Case Study/Lab Tours
12:00 - 12:50 pm Lunch
1:00 - 3:25 pm Hospital Tour/Speed Careering or Case Study/Lab Tours
3:25 - 3:45 pm Wrap-up and Program Concludes

Speakers

Kelvin Womack

At St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Kelvin Womack serves as the vice president  for diversity and inclusion. He joined the hospital in September 2019 to lead a new office dedicated to strengthening a culture that fosters belonging, inclusion and engagement at all levels within the institution. 

To the role, Womack brings more than 30 years of technology, business strategy and human capital consulting experience. He has worked with clients across multiple industries, including the U.S. Department of Defense, Health and Human Services, military health, and commercial and non-profit health care organizations. 

In addition, Womack has advised cabinet-level departments of the federal government and C-level commercial clients on strategies to develop leaders and inclusive cultures. He also served as Deloitte U.S. Firms’ managing principal for diversity. This experience has given Womack a unique set of perspectives on how to assess, create and implement initiatives that encourage diverse and inclusive cultures.

As a thought leader, Womack is a highly sought speaker and has delivered presentations on leadership, diversity and inclusion to audiences that include Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Florida State University, University of Maryland, National Association for Black Accountants, Association for Latino Professionals of America, DiversityInc. magazine, Out and Equal, and National Association for Health Services Executives.   

Womack earned a Bachelor of Science from the U.S. Naval Academy and a Master of Arts in management and human relations from Webster University. He served nine years as a U.S. Marine Corps Officer prior to his consulting career.

Charles Roberts, MD, PhD

Charles Roberts, MD, PhD, is the director of the St. Jude Comprehensive Cancer Center, the first and only National Cancer Institute (NCI)–designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. Roberts assumed the director role September 2015, and also serves as an executive vice president, a full member in the Department of Oncology and holds the Lillian R. Cannon Comprehensive Cancer Center Director Endowed Chair.

Roberts is an international leader in cancer epigenetics, and his research has provided new insights into the central role of chromatin remodeling perturbations in cancer, discoveries that have been translated into new investigational therapies for both pediatric and adult cancer patients. Roberts has also co-led an initiative on DNA sequencing of pediatric solid tumors at the Broad Institute. 

Beyond scientific accomplishments, he is a noted a pediatric oncologist. He served as the Deputy Chief Scientific Officer at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, chaired the pediatric Institutional Review Board for Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Boston Children’s Hospital and co-led the pediatric solid tumor disease program.

Roberts received his medical and doctoral degrees from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. He completed his pediatric residency and pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital.

William E. Evans, PharmD

Dr. Evans joined St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (SJCRH) as a student in 1972, chaired the Pharmaceutical Sciences Department from 1986-2002, served as Scientific Director & EVP from 2002-2004, and as President and CEO of SJCRH from 2004-2014. He currently holds the St. Jude Endowed Chair of Pharmacogenomics at SJCRH and is a Professor at the University of Tennessee Colleges of Pharmacy and Medicine.

During his decade as CEO, St. Jude was ranked the #1 Children’s Cancer Hospital by USNWR and by Parents Magazine, #1 in the Best Places to Work in Academia by Scientist Magazine, consistently among the Top 100 Best Places to Work by Fortune Magazine, received a perfect score by The Joint Commission and an “Exceptional” ranking as an NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Evans received his BSc and Pharm.D. degrees from the University of Tennessee HSC (1973, 1974) and spent a sabbatical year (1987-88) at the University of Basel (with Prof. Urs Meyer). He has received honorary doctoral degrees from Rhodes College, the Ohio State University and the University of Florida.

For the past 40 years his research has focused on the pharmacodynamics and pharmacogenomics of anticancer agents in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, for which he has received three consecutive NIH MERIT Awards from NCI. Evans has authored over 400 scientific publications and has received several national awards for his research, including the 1994 Volwiler Award from AACP, the 2009 Pediatric Oncology Award from ASCO (with Mary V. Relling of SJCRH), the 2009 Team Science Prize from AACR (shared with SJCRH colleagues), the 2012 Remington Medal from APhA, the 2013 Oscar B. Hunter Award from ASCPT and the 2018 Parker Medal from ACCP.

He was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the US National Academy of Sciences in 2002 (now the US National Academy of Medicine) and the German National Academy of Sciences in 2016.

Evans currently chairs the Scientific Advisory Board of the Princess Maxima Children’s Cancer Center in The Netherlands (2014-present), and has previously served on the Board of Trustees of the University of Tennessee (2014-2018) and the Board of Trustees of Rhodes College (2005-2014).

Resources

From the scientific talks in the morning to the case study and lab tours, you’ll hear a lot about pediatric leukemia and genomics at St. Jude Science Scholars of Tomorrow. Check out these resources to get some background information to prepare you to get the most out of your day.

Speed Careering

Here are a few of the scientists and clinicians you might meet during your speed careering session. Be sure to prepare some questions for the scientists and others you will meet on March 4th. This is a great opportunity to find out how they chose their path and what their day-to-day job is really like.

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