My North Star: Tragedy blazes trail for career fighting cancer

Joann Sweasy, PhD, was 9 when she decided to cure cancer.

Before that, she and her younger cousin spent hours dancing and playing games in Bristol, Pennsylvania. “She was like a sister to me.”

That carefree childhood changed when her cousin — almost 5 — was diagnosed with leukemia. Treatment options were limited in 1968, and Denise died three weeks later.

“It was a terrible and sad situation,” said Dr. Sweasy, who is an only child. “As a kid, I decided I wanted to cure cancer and that got me through a lot.”

To this day, she keeps a framed image of a soft smiling Denise, hands clasped, in a white blouse, ruby red skirt and knee highs, prominently displayed in her office. It’s her North Star.

So, too, is walking through the doors of the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center on the UNMC and Nebraska Medicine campus each day with patients. “That’s why we’re here.”

Before joining the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, she served as director of the University of Arizona Cancer Center. During her tenure, she led the center to renewal of its National Cancer Institute (NCI) comprehensive designation – the highest honor a cancer center can achieve.

The opportunity to lead the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center resonated with her aspirations to contribute in transformative ways, she said. “The search firm contacted me, and close friends also encouraged me to explore this role more closely,” she said. She was sold on her first visit. “The people I met were solution-focused, passionate about making a difference and genuinely supportive.”

She was moved by their dedication and the generosity of Nebraska’s philanthropic community. Visionaries like Pamela Buffett, whose commitment to advancing cancer care is woven into the very fabric of the center that bears her name and that of her late husband, Fred, left a lasting impression.

Joining UNMC in November 2023 was more than a relocation. It was a chance to advance cancer care, research and community collaboration, while building on the solid foundation of the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center.

The strategic foundation, laid by the former cancer center director, Ken Cowan, MD, PhD, who died in December 2024, continues to guide and inspire the center’s mission.

“He was a great adviser,” she said of Dr. Cowan, who led UNMC’s NCI-designated cancer center for more than two decades. “There’s about three conversations I’d like to have had with him this week alone.”

After applauding UNMC’s cancer center staff, clinicians and researchers, Dr. Sweasy acknowledged the individuals who have guided her. “My entire life, I’ve been lucky to have mentors and smart people who treated me with care,” she said. “I’m grateful for that.”

“We want Nebraskans to know we’re here for everyone in the state who’s been impacted by cancer.”

Joann Sweasy, PhD

That support and inspiration, she said, started with her sixth-grade science teacher, who sparked her love of DNA. Later, at Merck and Company, Dr. Sweasy was part of the team that developed Ivermectin, the drug farmers use to keep parasitic worms out of ruminant animals. She was especially impressed with how Merck’s then-CEO Roy Vagelos, MD, made the drug freely available to West Africans to eliminate river blindness.

That decision “made an impact on the world,” she said. “And making a larger impact through science is important to me.”

From Merck, she went to Rutgers University and worked with pioneering geneticist and Lasker Award recipient Evelyn Witkin, PhD, who discovered how DNA repairs itself. She then did a postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of Washington and worked alongside cancer researcher and genome scientist Lawrence Loeb, MD, PhD, known for determining the role mutations play in human cancer. And she’s worked at Yale University School of Medicine.

An internationally recognized expert in the genetics, cell biology and biochemistry of DNA repair, she’s now a mentor to others, even earning a postdoctoral mentoring prize while at Yale. For the past 25 years, National Institutes of Health funding has enabled her to study the molecular basis of mutagenesis (the production of genetic mutations) and DNA repair. Most recently, her lab discovered that aberrant DNA repair leads to the development of lupus. 

Administratively, she’s determined to put UNMC on the road to achieving NCI comprehensive status, and more importantly serve the people of Nebraska. That short-term plan includes:

Recruiting a leader to build population sciences in research, dissemination and implementation, including determining how best to provide Nebraskans access to treatment prevention.

Developing and expanding community outreach and engagement through bidirectional research, a strong community advisory board and an understanding of the needs of all Nebraskans. “For comprehensive designation, we have to have impact in our catchment area and for us, that’s the state of Nebraska.”

Building a cancer prevention and control research program, including recruiting up to 10 individuals focused on cancer prevention and survivorship research.

Increasing the number of enrolled patients in interventional trials, which help inform bench-to-bedside translation, as well as the development of new drugs and cancer treatments.

Achieving NCI Comprehensive Status means Nebraskans will have access to leading-edge treatments and care informed by world-class research close to home, Dr. Sweasy said. Beyond advanced treatment, it also brings programs focused on cause, early diagnosis, prevention, rehabilitation and survivorship support, ensuring a comprehensive approach to fighting cancer for the communities served.

Long-term, Dr. Sweasy is determined to decrease the cancer burden in Nebraska. “Over 40% of cancer is preventable,” she said. “We want to reduce the cancer burden and inequities and build on our outstanding reputation for strong scientific collaboration and impact.

“We want Nebraskans to be proud of their cancer center and all that we can accomplish together.”

And, while she knows Nebraska’s cancer research needs are as distinct as its geography, she’s confident that — in time — UNMC’s team at the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center will realize comprehensive NCI status through stronger engagement with all Nebraskans.