Featured Voice: Dr. Aaron Viny

Aaron Viny, MD, is a physician scientist and an assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physician and Surgeons and a member of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC) and the Columbia Stem Cell Initiative (CSCI). Dr. Viny was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) as a college student. Having cancer directly influenced his decision to become an oncologist and to conduct research in blood cancers, aiming to uncover better, more effective therapies for patients. 

I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in the winter of my junior year of college. After a month of fatigue, I was seen at the sudent health clinic where a complete blood count (CBC) showed abnormal cells in my blood concerning for leukemia, a cancer of the bone marrow. During my cancer treatment, the phrase, “Everything happens for a reason” always bothered me. Even now, 21 years from my curative bone marrow transplant for ALL, it still doesn’t sit right. As a care provider, I hear similar sentiments analogize cancer treatment to a “battle." My patients and their loved ones are empathically encouraged to “fight against cancer.” But cancer never fights fair. From my experience as a survivor and a physician scientist in blood cancers at the HICCC, cancer tragically takes even the strongest people among us—and this is certainly not due to lack of will or determination or spirit. 

I was lucky. I was lucky to live in a community with an excellent cancer hospital, doctors and researchers and to have tremendous social support from friends and family; but even having all those is still not always enough. Being one of the lucky ones comes with existential guilt and reflection on cancer survivorship. 

Dr. Aaron Viny Gears Up for Velocity Day 2024 with a New Team Identity

I rebuff that “everything happens for a reason” adage and submit that in life “things happen”. Things happen to all of us, good and bad, and they shape who we are. We can give meaning to the things that happen to us through our purposeful actions. It is that narrative that drives my cancer research lab, my clinical practice, and my desire to improve the lives of cancer patients who need better, more effective, and less toxic therapies.

It is also with this sentiment that I started a team for Velocity, Columbia’s Ride to End Cancer three years ago. My team, formerly known as the CSCI Stem Cell Cyclers, is riding to advance the research that will lead to better cancer detection and better cancer treatment. This year, my team proudly sports a formidable new name, “Bad Blood,” in memory of Dr. Mark Heaney.

There is no more influential clinical mentor in my career than Dr. Heaney. In 2020 when I was recruited to Columbia, I was thrilled to be reunited with him, transitioning from mentee/mentor to colleages. His memory drives our hematological malignancies group to build upon the legacy that he left behind, and led by Joe Jurcic, MD, the director of the hematologic malignancies section in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC), the best is yet to come. We ride to raise awareness and support for blood cancers treatments. For anyone whose life has been touched by cancer, whether in honor or in memory, I cannot think of a better way to give meaning to their journey.

Annual Bone Marrow Community Drive

Improving blood cancer treatments requires an all-hands-on-deck approach. I was lucky enough to find a stem cell donor match in my family, but some don’t find their match. That’s why I started an annual bone marrow donor registry drive to encourage people to sign up for the national bone marrow registry. July marks the anniversary of my own stem cell marrow transplant. This is not only curative, but transformative therapy, equipping patients with a brand-new immune system to snuff out leftover leukemia cells after their therapy.

The event is hosted annually during Blood Cancer Awareness Month, with the goal of adding more New Yorkers to the bone marrow registry. All it takes is a simple cheek swab to potentially save a life. This year’s event highlighted beautiful testimonials from two bone marrow transplant patients, as well as inspiring perspectives from Drs. Jurcic and Markus Mapara, MD, PhD, the director of the Blood and Bone Marrow Transplant Program  at CUIMC.