Personalized Chemotherapy with Dr. Robert Nagourney and Rational Therapeutics

Dr. Robert Nagourney, Founder and Medical and Laboratory Director at Rational Therapeutics, Inc., in Long Beach, California, and a Clinical Professor, at University of California Irvine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology joins eHealth Radio and the Cancer Prevention Information Channel.
Listen to interview with host Eric Michaels & guest Dr. Robert Nagourney discuss the following:

1. Tell us about your pioneering work in personalized chemotherapy and functional profiling.
2. Is it possible to choose the most effective chemotherapy drugs before patients receive them?
3. Why hasn’t this been more widely applied?
4. Do you have published data to support your work?
5. What do you think has made it possible for you to succeed where others have failed?
6. Going forward, what are the implications of your ability to successfully conduct these studies?
7. What is the best advice you can give to people who have been just diagnosed with cancer?

Duration: 10:24
Robert A. Nagourney, MD, is Medical and Laboratory Director at Rational Therapeutics, Inc., in Long Beach, California, and a Clinical Professor, University of California Irvine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.  He is board certified in internal medicine, medical oncology, and hematology.
A native of Bridgeport, Connecticut, Dr. Nagourney completed undergraduate education at Boston University, earning a BA in Chemistry, Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa with Distinction in Biochemistry.  He received his MD at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, where he was a University Scholar.  After completing his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of California, Irvine, Dr. Nagourney received fellowship training in Medical Oncology at Georgetown University in Washington, DC.  He went on to complete a second fellowship in hematology at the Scripps Institute in La Jolla, California, where he was the recipient of the Scripps Institute Young Investigator Award.
Dr. Nagourney went on to found Rational Therapeutics, a cancer research institute located in Long Beach, California, that has pioneered the development of “functional profiling” in human tumors.  The functional profiling platform uses human tumor microspheroids in primary culture to measure drug induced programmed cell death, both apoptotic and non-apoptotic. It has proven a robust method for the prediction of clinical response to therapy. Following its successful application to cytotoxic drugs and radiation, this platform has now been successfully applied in the development of novel compounds, drug combinations and to the study of signal transduction inhibitors and “targeted” agents.
With over 20 years experience in human tumor primary culture analyses, Dr. Nagourney has authored more than 100 manuscripts, book chapters and abstracts including publications in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Gynecological Oncology and The Journal of National Cancer Institute. As co-investigator on national cooperative trials, Dr. Nagourney is recognized for the introduction of Platin/Gemcitabine doublets to the treatment of advanced ovarian and breast cancer. A frequently invited lecturer for numerous professional organizations and universities, Dr. Nagourney has served as a reviewer and on the editorial boards of several journals including Clinical Cancer Research, British Journal of Cancer, Gynecologic Oncology, Cancer Research and the Journal of Medicinal Food. Dr Nagourney resides in Long Beach, California with his wife and two sons.

Website: www.RationalTherapeutics.com