Inova Announces Gift to Endow Sheridan Director, Molecular Tumor Board at Inova Schar Cancer Institute

Falls Church, VA —Inova today announced that it has received a $1 million gift from Win Sheridan, co-founder of APEX Systems, to endow the role of the Director of the Molecular Tumor Board at Inova Schar Cancer Institute. In recognition of Sheridan’s generous gift, this position will be renamed to be the Sheridan Director, Molecular Tumor Board.

The Molecular Tumor Board (MTB) helps match patients with rare or recurring advanced cancers with personalized treatment designed to treat the characteristics of their specific cancer. Members of the MTB include oncologists, geneticists, biochemists and clinicians, and the group is currently led by Timothy Cannon, MD, who will serve as the inaugural Sheridan Director.

“I’m proud to invest in the powerful work being done by Dr. Cannon and the Molecular Tumor Board,” said Sheridan. “Their innovations in precision medicine bring hope to so many patients who are battling rare and advanced cancers.”

Since the MTB’s founding in 2016, more than 700 patient cases have been presented for review by the board, and earlier this year, MTB enrolled its 100th patient in the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s (ASCO) Targeted Agent and Profiling Utilization Registry (TAPUR) Study—a non-randomized clinical trial that aims to describe the performance (both safety and efficacy) of Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved, targeted anticancer drugs prescribed for treatment of patients with advanced cancer that has a potentially actionable genomic alteration. Dr. Cannon also serves as the national chair of the steering committee for this pivotal study.

“We’re deeply grateful to Win for this gift, which allows us to take an even more personalized approach in treating our patients with advanced cancer,” said Dr. Cannon. “This gift enables us to work with some of the brightest scientific minds in molecular pathology and use the best technology to enhance patient care through clinical trials and use of novel therapeutics. Several results I witnessed this year for participating patients have been incredibly gratifying and I look forward to the future successes that will be made possible with Win’s contribution.”

“The Molecular Tumor Board is one of the many ways that Inova Schar distinguishes itself to provide exceptional patient-centered cancer care,” said John Deeken, MD, President of Inova Schar Cancer Institute. “Win’s generous gift will further strengthen the ability of this important group to match patients with new and promising options for treatment.”

About Inova

Inova is Northern Virginia’s leading nonprofit healthcare provider. Our mission is to provide world-class healthcare – every time, every touch – to each person in every community we have the privilege to serve. Inova’s 19,000 team members serve more than 2 million individuals annually through an integrated network of hospitals, primary and specialty care practices, emergency and urgent care centers, outpatient services, and destination institutes.  

Inova’s five hospitals are consistently recognized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals and Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades for excellence in healthcare.

Inova is home to Northern Virginia’s only Level 1 Trauma Center and Level 4 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Its hospitals have a total of 1,936 licensed beds. More information and statistics about Inova can be found at inova.org.