Welcome to the Pioneers in Health podcast. In this podcast, we share inspiring stories of pioneering leaders from our nation and from your backyard who are working to improve health.
In episode 38, we interview Mark Fleury, principal of policy development-emerging science at the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. He specializes in research, drug development, and regulatory policies, along with other science and technology-related projects.
In this episode, Mark discusses growing up in Kansas and how a love of math and science as a kid led him to becoming an engineer, where he saw an opportunity to make a difference. He majored in chemical engineering with an environmental minor at Kansas State University.
“What drew me there was the chance to use math and science to solve real-world problems,” Mark said.
Upon graduation, he went to work for Cargill for a number of years, where utilized his skills to design industrial wastewater treatment plants and then oversaw them being constructed. He found great satisfaction in seeing a project from the design phase through completion.
However, Mark began realizing he wanted to use his problem-solving skills in a different way and went back to school to pursue a PhD. He wanted to pursue public health and tackle problems related to disease.
“I realized that policy was a way to drive the science to create an environment that was conducive for those discoveries to make their way into new therapies and treatments for patients,” he said.
Mark received an opportunity to work in Senator Claire McCaskill’s office in Washington, D.C., at a time when the Affordable Care Act was being debated. During that time, he learned an extensive amount about how to deliver and pay for health care.
From there, he eventually found his way to working on cancer research and policy — and ultimately found his way to the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, where he works today within the emerging science portfolio of work.
“Our work really is across the continuum of cancer — from before you even know you have cancer to well into the journey,” he said.
He highlighted current policy initiatives focused on getting insurance companies to cover certain testing that would help cancer patients receive the best care.
“The best and most innovative treatments in the world are of little use if you can’t access them and don’t have an ability to pay for them,” he said.
He also discusses:
- The purpose of the Cancer Action Network
- Cancer research
- Biomarkers and pharmacogenomic testing, which studies how a person’s genetic makeup affects their response to specific drugs
- Clinical trials
- The importance of early detection
- Efforts to drive more investment in childhood cancers
- Drug shortages
- What gives him hope
And much more! Listen now, and learn more about how Mark is an innovative leader in health care.
Listen now
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