Bob Kehm helped kick off UC Health Research Week 2012 on Tuesday at University Hospital with a story that merged coincidence with collaboration and hope. The coincidence involved the 62-year-old West Chester man’s best buddy, “Jake,” a 165-pound Newfoundland and therapy dog that Mr. Kehm had trained for duty. The collaboration involved Mr. Kehm’s multidisciplinary team of physicians at the Brain Tumor Center at the UC Neuroscience Institute, one of four institutes of the UC College of Medicine and UC Health. And the hope comes in the form of a novel brain cancer vaccine study for which Mr. Kehm qualified.
Mr. Kehm, a trim, athletic man who last month zipped through the Walk Ahead for a Brain Tumor Cure 5k in 23 minutes and 13 seconds, began training with Jake two years ago, and the pair soon qualified as a therapy team.