I am a Professor of Surgery in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery at the University of Kentucky with 30 years of experience as a cardiothoracic surgeon. My primary focus has been addressing the significant burden of lung cancer in Kentucky. I have served on the Kentucky Lung Cancer Research Project (KLCRP) Governance Board and have served as the Medical Director of the Kentucky Clinical Trials Network, an initiative of the KLCRP. As the Medical Director of the Markey Cancer Center (MCC) Affiliate Network (MCCAN) and MCC Research Network (MCCRN), we have expanded affiliation of 20 community-based oncology programs across the state. The MCCAN and MCCRN have matured over the past 20 years to sustainable collaborations that has worked together to overcome barriers through mutually beneficial partnerships, ensure access to high-quality cancer care closer to home, especially underserved rural and Appalachian communities, and to advance the implementation of cancer care guidelines. The MCCRN is a collaborative network of sites conducting a portfolio of high priority trials, including therapeutic oncology trials, interventional and non-interventional trials. In 2020, I was elected to serve as the national Chair of the American College of Surgeons, Commission on Cancer (CoC) dedicated to monitoring the performance of nearly 1500 cancer programs. I was PI for an American Cancer Society (ACS) funded project aligned with MCCAN designed to deliver optimal utilization of biomarkers in lung cancer through quality improvement. My national activities have extended through the National Lung Cancer Roundtable (NLCRT) of ACS and service with the President’s Cancer Panel to define national standards in cancer patient survivorship, and presented work on tobacco treatment for cancer survivors at the White House. This work has impacted nearly 1 million patients. As the PI of the Kentucky Lung Cancer Survivorship Program from Bristol Myers Squib Foundation, which supported the Kentucky LEADS Collaborative, a portfolio of studies to reduce the burden of lung cancer in Kentucky through the development, evaluation and dissemination of novel, community-based interventions to promote clinician education, survivorship care, prevention, and early detection of lung cancer. We collaborated with Kentucky legislators to pass a state law to fund and address lung cancer screening. In 2023 I was appointed by the governor to lead the Kentucky Lung Cancer Screening Advisory Board, a coalition of stakeholders that are overseeing the allocation of $1 million to address lung cancer screening. Over the past 5 years, I have been the clinical champion for the L.A.U.N.C.H. (Linking and Amplifying User-Centered Networks Through Connected Health) collaborative, with funding from NCI and the FCC, studying barriers to cancer care and impact of limited broadband access in our region. This has led to a new grant from the Merck Foundation at MCC and three MCC Research Network sites to evaluate delivery of psychosocial distress assessment and patient navigation for cancer survivors.