October 2025 — Suresh Ramalingam, executive director of Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, spoke with Focus: about becoming a worldwide leader in cancer research. “We are winning the war against cancer, and Winship Cancer Institute has played a key role. What we are doing today will make an even bigger impact tomorrow,” Ramalingam stated.
What changes over the past year have most impacted the center, and in what ways?
As a leader in healthcare research and education, Emory has continued to grow in the region as a major contributor in the Southeast United States. In the last year, we have been impacted by the change in the geopolitical environment. There is a shift in focus of the new government as it relates to biomedical research and healthcare. The CDC and NIH are going through a lot of changes. Through all of this, we are proud that our research programs in the Cancer Center span the spectrum of understanding cancer risk factors, prevention, early detection, innovative treatments, and helping cured patients re-incorporate themselves into regular life. As circumstances evolve, we constantly refine and enhance these programs to better serve our patients.
How would you summarize the most meaningful progress at Winship over the past year?
At the heart of everything we do at Winship Cancer Institute is improving the lives of our patients. As we have grown, we have enhanced our patient care programs to improve patient experience. When somebody is told they have cancer, they don’t want to wait for 10 or 20 days to meet their doctor. We make a concerted effort to ensure that patients are seen quickly after they call us. We have significantly bolstered our patient navigation program. When patients call us, an expert will walk them through the initial steps to get them into the system and provide the support they need during a complex treatment journey. We also continue to grow our multidisciplinary programs. To take care of patients with cancer, a team of experts is needed. When patients visit us, they have access to all of our team members at the same visit, from surgeons, radiologists, oncologists, pharmacists, nurses, patient navigation, nutrition, and rehabilitation. On the research side, we have continued to grow. In the past 12 to 18 months, our researchers have published papers on new ways to treat cancers such as multiple myeloma and lung cancer. Our team of researchers has conducted research on new drugs and treatment methods. Our research on improving the effectiveness of immunotherapies has seen incredible advances. We are seeing the impact of our research not only directly helping our patients, but also helping patients worldwide.
How does Winship navigate the challenge of bringing cutting-edge therapies to patients while managing costs and expanding reach?
We not only need to continue to make advances in cancer treatments, but also must ensure that the existing advances reach every patient with cancer. We study barriers that limit patients from getting top-notch care. In addition to financial barriers, health literacy is a common barrier. Infrastructure and logistical barriers, such as transportation, are issues. Our programs are designed to reach patients in different ways to understand their needs and best leverage the resources available in and outside the institution. We launched a mobile prostate screening program that takes screenings to the communities. When detected early, prostate cancer can be cured in the vast majority of the patients. We invested in AI and signed on with a technology platform that helps identify financial resources available to patients, making it easy for our navigators to look across the universe of available resources and tailor them to our patients. With Medicaid expansion still uncertain in Georgia, we remain concerned about its impact on patient access and are exploring ways to mitigate that. We partner with other institutions and stakeholders to continually look at ways to reach our patients.
What areas of cancer research or care delivery hold the most promise for changing patient outcomes in the next few years?
We are in an incredibly exciting time in biomedical research. The advances we’ve seen in cancer care in the past 15-20 years have been transformational. Over 3 million lives have been saved over the past three decades in the United States because of the advances, but more work remains to be done. Prevention is the best form of cancer care. The three biggest risk factors for cancer are smoking, diet, and alcohol. Smoking cessation can result in major decrements in cancer occurrences. What we eat and our level of physical activity affect our risk factors. HPV vaccination is an area of focus. We can prevent cervical cancer and certain forms of head and neck cancer by vaccinating eligible children in their early teens. On the innovation side, we are in the era of AI. We are integrating AI in many ways, such as designing new drugs, driving our biomedical research in our laboratories, accelerating patient care, coordinating patient care, and using data more effectively to inform the care of patients. We must invest in basic science and fundamental, lab-based research that helps us understand how cancer cells behave, what makes them metastasize, and how to overcome deficits in the immune system. We also need to address cancer at a population level, studying the impact of cancer in our communities at a higher level, and how we can intervene.
How do you see Winship expanding its role in supporting patients and families after treatment?
There are many components to survivorship. First is the patient’s ability to integrate back into the regular flow of life. Cancer treatments have financial implications, and many patients are left financially behind. They may also be at risk of other medical problems due to their treatments. Survivorship is a comprehensive approach to address these issues to the best extent possible. Our survivorship programs start with physical rehabilitation, psychosocial counseling, and social work. We also have patient forums where patients can learn from each other. We ensure patients get appropriate follow-up, such as additional scans and blood tests. The goal is to package these elements in a way that is easy for a patient to navigate. We continually learn from our own research and from colleagues across the country to integrate best practices into our workflows.
In the next 5-10 years, how do you envision Winship’s role evolving in shaping not only Georgia’s cancer landscape, but the national conversation on oncology?
Winship’s mission is to discover cures for cancer and inspire hope for our patients. We have grown significantly in the past 10-15 years, and our research has a global impact. We will continue to be even greater contributors to patient outcomes and reduce the burden of cancer worldwide. We have the intellectual ability to lead through the people we have in our cancer programs. Emory University is a top-class institution with experts in many fields that may not directly intersect with cancer, but who can contribute to how we approach cancer. Being part of a world-class institution and health system, in a city with so many partners, allows us to be leaders in the field. Our partners include Georgia Tech, Morehouse, Georgia State, Clark Atlanta University, and Augusta University. These collaborations strengthen research and clinical innovation while expanding our impact beyond Georgia. Winship researchers and clinicians are already on national and international forums, societies, and consensus groups, providing their input into various aspects of cancer research and care. These forums will continue to be leveraged to advocate for the patients we serve. We are winning the war against cancer, and Winship Cancer Institute has played a key role. What we are doing today will make an even bigger impact tomorrow.
What is the importance of collaboration and partnership in cancer research and advancement?
At a time when federal support for biomedical research looks less certain, stakeholders need to come together. This is an opportunity where various groups within Georgia, including the state government, corporate entities, and payers, can come together to accelerate the momentum in the fight against cancer. Cancer affects 40% of all men and a nearly equal number of women. The only way to overcome that is by working together across various boundaries and borders. The onus is on all of us to come together and find innovative ways to support cancer research and care.
Want more? Read the Focus: Atlanta report.
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