Leading with Gratitude with Dr. Daniel Laheru

Daniel Laheru , MD, is the Professor of Oncology and Co-Director of Skip Viragh Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. He holds the Ian MacMillian Professorship in Clinical Pancreatic Cancer Research. Dr. Laheru has developed a vaccine along with Dr. Elizabeth Jaffee, that supercharges the immune system and causes immune cells, which tend to be tolerant of cancer, to seek out and kill pancreatic cancer cells throughout the body. He is a Member of the Miller-Coulson Academy of Clinical Excellence, Member of Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, and Associated Director of the Institute for Convergence Science.  “There's no job that's insignificant here. Whatever you're doing, you need to do it to the best of your abilities.” A monumental lesson from Dr. Daniel Laheru’s parents taught him to notice the janitor who moves by silently in the corner, the nurse who works overtime without appreciation, and the security guard who passes a silent glance at every passerby. In this episode of The Medicine Mentors, Dr. Daniel Laheru explains recognizing the interconnected nature of every person’s role in the infrastructure of medicine, instilling gratitude in our practice, and paying it back by paying it forward. Pearls of Wisdom:   1. Enjoy the time that you’re a student because you’ll wonder what you did with all your time after. The future is entirely open to you, the ceiling is what you make it. 2. I’m happy doing what I’m doing right now, and if I can do this five years from now, I’ll be ecstatic.  3. The fellows, residents, and medical students are the lifeblood of the institution and the next generation so don’t be shy about asking somebody if they have time to meet with you.  4. A good mentor is like a parent in the sense that they put your goals ahead of their own. My mentor really saw my future before I was able to understand it for myself. 5. The little things in the course of a day actually make a big difference. Thanking and appreciating someone goes a long way.