Tarsem Moudgil's father died of pancreatic cancer three days before Tarsem came to work in the Robert W. Franz Cancer Research Center in 1998. "There were no vaccines available, and no treatments that would help him," recalls Tarsem. "The helplessness was difficult to accept. So I made a promise: ‘Father, I will try my best to see how many other people I can help.'"
In the Human Applications Laboratory, Tarsem furthers the cause for a cure by processing human cancer cell lines that will be used for cancer treatment. He meets with patients before their tumors are removed to explain what will happen. Later, he prepares the vaccines that contain patients' own tumor cells, which have been treated to stimulate anti-tumor immunity. "When radiation and chemotherapy no longer help, and we tell them we can make a vaccine that might help, it has a profound effect on their lives," says Tarsem, "because now there is hope."
Tarsem finds his work highly rewarding. "This is probably one of the best cancer centers in the country," says Tarsem. "Here we not only develop gene therapies, but also test them in patients. It allows us to come full circle, using our scientific achievements to help patients. I think we are doing a great service to our community and to our patients."