UP FRONT
Dr. Bolwell (third from left) at his son Brian’s wedding
in July 2017.
malignancies. And much of the knowledge
we’ve gained about genetics and genomics
of acute leukemia has set the stage for what
we know now about other types of cancer.
It’s funny – although these therapies
have emerged and become a major focus
of cancer research recently, those of us
who have been doing allogeneic BM trans-
plantation have basically been practicing
immunologic therapy for decades. Every-
thing has come full circle.
In a typical day, what is your rose
and what is your thorn?
The best part of my day is the beginning.
Almost every morning, the first thing I
do after I wake up is some type of cardio
exercise – an elliptical machine, a bike –
and listen to music. At work, the best part
is when goals are achieved, either by a
patient, someone on my team, or myself.
As an example, one of our goals at the
institute is to reduce the time it takes new
patients to get their initial therapy. If
we can cut that down by a few days, it’s
an accomplishment our whole team
can be proud of. When any member of
the cancer center’s team succeeds, it’s
important for me as a leader to sit in
the back row and give him or her all the
credit.
The worst parts of my day generally
fall into two categories: trying to man-
age folks who aren’t behaving well and
handling budgetary issues, which can
be a challenge. I’ll just leave it at that.
It’s hard to find too many things to
complain about in this job. My biggest
pet peeve is folks who are entitled. At
our institute, we see so many coura-
geous people who are facing some
horrific illnesses and doing so with
class, grace, and courage. Anybody,
regardless of where you were born or
your socioeconomic status, can get
these diseases. There are so many won-
derful things that are available to us if
we have our health. Sweating the small
things just doesn’t make sense to me.
Outside of work, what do you
do for fun? Do you have time for
any hobbies?
I like spending time with my kids; I
have two sons and one daughter. My
sons are skilled golfers. They played
competitively in college. Even though
I’m not nearly as good as they are, it’s
fun to play with them. My daughter is
getting her degree in clinical psychol-
ogy in Los Angeles; I enjoy hanging out
with her when I can.
I’m a Cleveland Cavaliers fan, so
we have season tickets and watch them
play quite often.
Other than that, I like reading mys-
tery novels and books about leadership
– which are two very different topics.
And, of course, I still love going to the
theater.
What’s one thing people might
not know about you?
I’ll give you two: I’m still a huge Uni-
versity of Tennessee football fan, and
I really like Britney Spears’ music – it’s
great to work out to! ●
ASH Clinical News
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