June 26 2025
NRG Oncology (NRG), a National Cancer Institute (NCI) National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) group focused on improving outcomes for adults with cancer through multi-center clinical research, recently announced that Tambre Leighn was appointed Committee Chair of the NRG Patient Advocate Committee (PAC) and Dr. Chris Holsinger was appointed Surgical Vice Chair of the NRG Head and Neck Cancer (HNC) Committee.
Tambre Leighn was named NRG Patient Advocate Committee Chair after previously serving as the committee’s Vice Chair. In her role as Vice Chair, Ms. Leighn led the effort to increase visibility, impact, and engagement of the PAC within NRG and externally. She is also a member of the NRG Cancer Care Delivery Research Committee and the NRG Communications Committee. Outside of NRG Oncology, Ms. Leighn is a respected communications consultant, trainer, and speaker in the healthcare field. She founded her firm, Well Beyond Ordinary, in honor of her late husband, with a mission to improve patient care through a blend of personal insight and professional expertise. Her passion is focused on improving patient communication, engagement, and adherence through innovative coaching-based solutions. Ms. Leighn also serves as a patient advocate for the Knight Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society.
Ms. Leighn will work alongside NRG PAC Vice Chair, Marlyn Molero to continue to advance patient advocate engagement within NRG’s clinical research operations from development through publication of our trials. Additionally, PAC leadership continues to create educational opportunities that encourage patient advocates to broaden their experience by providing feedback and helping to tailor our clinical trials to better fit the needs of the community.
NRG is currently soliciting applications for the vacant Vice Chair role for this committee. Applications are due by July 8th and more information is available at www.nrgoncology.org/Current-Openings.
Chris Holsinger, MD, FACS, was selected as the Surgical Vice Chair of the NRG Head and Neck Cancer Committee as well as the Chair of the NRG Head and Neck Surgery Working Group. Dr. Holsinger has been an engaged and active member within the NRG organization for nearly two decades. Prior to being named Vice Chair, he was a member of the NRG HNC Committee since 2014, Vice Chair of the NRG Head and Neck Surgery Working Group, and served in leading roles for several studies including surgical principal investigator for RTOG 0920 and the development and launch of RTOG 1221 concurrently with ECOG 3311. Specifically, for RTOG 1221 and ECOG 3311, Dr. Holsinger introduced the first prospective effort in surgeon credentialling and ongoing quality assurance as well as took the role of NRG Champion to promote engagement between the two cooperative groups. Outside of his many accomplishments within NRG’s organization, Dr. Holsinger is a professor in the Division of Head and Neck Surgery in the Department of Otolaryngology at Stanford University where he served as Division Chief for 10 years and led the multidisciplinary cancer care program. He continues to work as a surgical oncologist with a research portfolio focused on surgical robotics, AI, and multidisciplinary clinical trials research.
Dr. Holsinger will work alongside HNC Committee Chair Dr. Sue Yom and Vice Chairs Drs. Stuart Wong and Neil Hayes to expand and enrich NRG’s head and neck cancer portfolio with specific focus on the surgical community.
NRG looks forward to the continued advances of the group’s research through the leadership and guidance of these individuals in their new roles.
Current NRG Oncology openings for leadership and committee applications can be found on the website at www.NRGOncology.org/Current-Openings
About NRG Oncology
NRG Oncology conducts practice-changing, multi-institutional clinical and translational research to improve the lives of patients with cancer. Founded in 2012, NRG Oncology is a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit corporation that integrates the research of the legacy National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP), Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG), and Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) programs. The research network seeks to carry out clinical trials with emphases on gender-specific malignancies, including gynecologic, breast, and prostate cancers, and on localized or locally advanced cancers of all types. NRG Oncology’s extensive research organization comprises multidisciplinary investigators, including medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, surgeons, physicists, pathologists, and statisticians, and encompasses more than 1,300 research sites located world-wide with predominance in the United States and Canada. NRG Oncology is supported primarily through grants from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and is one of five research groups in the NCI’s National Clinical Trials Network.
www.nrgoncology.org