Dartmouth Health has launched a new Division of Resilient and Sustainable Cancer Care at Dartmouth Cancer Center, the first of its kind at a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer center. Renowned oncology researcher Katie Lichter, MD, MPH, will helm the division as its inaugural director.
“Our mission is to make cancer care resilient in the face of disruptive events caused by climate change and reduce cancer care’s environmental footprint across the globe,” said Lichter. “That starts with listening to patients and families and understanding what matters most to them. And it ends with developing sustainable models of care that can be adopted by cancer centers everywhere to minimize health risks for future generations.”
Climate change disrupts cancer care in various ways, from air pollution and supply chain issues to natural disasters like wildfires and hurricanes. At the same time, certain widely used cancer treatments and related externalities may be contributing to climate change in small ways or accumulating potential contaminants in the environment which could pose a danger to public health over time.
The division’s work will center on two key priorities: building resilience by lowering barriers and ensuring uninterrupted, equitable care amid a changing climate, and reducing the environmental impacts of delivering high-quality care. Together, these efforts aim to align patient-centered care with long-term global health.
The first step in developing new models of resilience and sustainability in cancer care is to gather the evidence and study the existing dynamics at play, through patient surveys, data analysis and clinical partnerships across New Hampshire and Vermont.
Lichter holds dual faculty appointments in Radiation Oncology & Applied Sciences within Dartmouth Cancer Center and The Dartmouth Institute (TDI) for Health Policy & Clinical Practice. She is also a faculty affiliate at the Irving Institute for Energy & Society, where she works with colleagues across disciplines to develop multidimensional, collaborative solutions responsive to broader societal needs.
Lichter joins Dartmouth Health from the University of California, San Francisco, where she founded the Lichter GreenHealth Lab, which investigated the intersection of environmental health, climate change and cancer care. Lichter has transitioned the lab’s work to Dartmouth Health, as the Lichter Laboratory, where it will serve as the cornerstone of the new division, which was launched under the vision of former Dartmouth Cancer Center Director Steven D. Leach, MD., and Chair of Radiation Oncology Charles R. Thomas Jr., MD.
“Dartmouth Health has long been a critical provider of cancer care and cutting-edge cancer research, leading the country with groundbreaking clinical trials and setting the standard for compassionate, high-quality patient care,” said Thomas. “Now, this new Division of Resilient and Sustainable Cancer Care will generate pioneering science and evidence-based models that will bring individual and global needs and sensitivities into the standard practices of care worldwide.”
Dartmouth Cancer Center is one of the nation's premier facilities for cancer treatment and research. It is one of only 57 National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the United States. Dartmouth Cancer Center is a world leader in cancer prevention and control research, seeking to identify nutritional, environmental, and lifestyle factors that may cause cancer with 135 cancer research scientists working on about 250 active research projects aimed at curing cancer, understanding its causes, and promoting ways to prevent cancer before it starts.
Through its longstanding partnership with Dartmouth College and the Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth Cancer Center trains medical residents and fellows each year at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and performs cutting-edge research and clinical trials.
The work also aligns closely with Dartmouth College’s broader institutional focus on resilience and sustainability.
About Dartmouth Cancer Center
Since 1972, Dartmouth Cancer Center (DCC) has combined groundbreaking and advanced cancer research at Dartmouth and the Geisel School of Medicine with award-winning, personalized, compassionate, patient-centered cancer care and clinical trials. At its flagship location at Dartmouth Health’s Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, with 14 locations across New Hampshire and Vermont, DCC is one of fewer than 60 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers nationally. Each year, DCC manages 74,000 appointments, treats more than 4,500 newly diagnosed patients, and currently offers more than 240 active clinical trials. DCC remains committed to excellence, outreach and education. DCC strives to create new knowledge and impact, accelerate integrated and collaborative research to prevent and cure cancer, enhance survivorship and promote cancer-related health equity. Learn more at cancer.dartmouth.edu.
About Dartmouth Health
Dartmouth Health, New Hampshire’s only academic health system and largest private employer, serves patients across New England. Dartmouth Health provides access to more than 2,300 providers in nearly every area of medicine, delivering care at its flagship hospital, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, NH. Its network of hospitals, outpatient centers, clinics and home care facilities, spans a broad geographical area. Year after year, DHMC is named the #1 hospital in New Hampshire by U.S. News & World Report, and is consistently recognized for high performance in numerous clinical specialties and procedures. Dartmouth Health includes Dartmouth Cancer Center, northern New England’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers and one of less than than 60 total nationally; Dartmouth Health Children’s, which includes the state’s only children’s hospital (Children’s Hospital at DHMC/CHaD) and more than 20 locations around the region; eight member hospitals in Lebanon, Keene, Claremont, Hampstead, and New London, NH, and Windsor and Bennington, VT; Dartmouth Health Home Care; Dartmouth Health Connected Care Center for Telehealth, serving patients as far away as Texas; and more than 30 primary and multi-specialty clinics across New Hampshire and Vermont. Through its partnership with Dartmouth College, Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine and the White River Junction VA Medical Center, Dartmouth Health trains nearly 400 medical residents and fellows annually and performs cutting-edge research and clinical trials with international impact. Dartmouth Health and its more than 16,000 employees are committed to serving the healthcare needs of everyone in the communities it serves and to providing every patient with exceptional, state-of-the-art, personalized care. Learn more at dartmouth-health.org.