Advocating for universal screenings and driving cancer research — that’s just a day’s work for Ilene Fox-Comeras, BSN, RN, OCN, CCRC. A clinical research specialist with the Department of Internal Medicine’s Division of Human Genetics, she began her career as a nursing student at Ohio State in 1969 and has spent over 30 years here since, currently as a coordinator of the Ohio State Genomic Health research program.
For Ilene, the work is deeply personal. In 1995, her family members were among the first patients to participate in genetic research at Ohio State. Testing identified a gene mutation, Lynch Syndrome, which led to cancer discoveries among her relatives, including her niece, JoAnn.
Across her adult life, JoAnn has struggled with several cancers, but they have been managed with the help of a team of specialists at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. As a high-risk patient, JoAnn has benefitted from genetic screening, receiving personalized assessments, guidelines and preventative surgeries that have allowed her to thrive.
Ilene hopes her Ohio State contributions — and those of others — continue to advance research, expand universal screening, and help patients live longer, healthier lives that include milestones like becoming a grandparent. She shares, “When JoAnn first sent me pictures of her holding her grandbaby, I thought, ‘This is it.’ This is what the work and the gifts are all about.”
Help us further the research around Lynch Syndrome based cancers by giving today to the Colorectal Cancer Research Fund!
Prefer to make your gift over the phone? Contact the Engagement Center at 614-292-2281.
| Rank | State | Gifts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | OH | 2 |
| 2 | VA | 1 |
| 3 | AA | 0 |
