Q&A A BREAKTHROUGH DISCOVERY
One of the worst traits of cancer is how rapidly it grows. In 1984, a cancer research team led by Hal Moses, MD, ’56, discovered a protein our bodies naturally produce that helps slow that growth. It was a breakthrough discovery that changed the face of cancer research and treatment, opening the door to decades’ worth of related discoveries and giving doctors new ways to successfully combat this deadly disease. Hal grew up in a poor family and attended Cumberlands back when it was only a 2-year school. He then completed his bachelor’s degree at Berea College and later graduated from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. After 55 years of full-time work filled with globe-impacting cancer research, Hal officially retired in August 2017 as a nationally and internationally recognized physician-scientist, leader, and professor. Why did you come to Cumberlands?
It was my only real choice. My family was very poor. Neither of my parents graduated from high school; my father was a coal miner and was unemployed during much of my college and medical school time. I was able to attend Cumberland College while living at home. With help from relatives, we were able to pay tuition. With encouragement from my professors, particularly Professor P.R. Jones in the Department of Chemistry, I was given self-confidence that I could succeed.
What did you do after graduating from Cumberlands? During my second year at Cumberland, I learned about Berea College. They did not then and do not now charge tuition, and all students work for a minimum of ten hours per week for which they are paid. Dr. James Boswell, president of Cumberland College at the time, called me and a friend, George Ellis, ’56, into his office a couple of months before commencement and asked us what we were going to do after graduation. I had told George about Berea, and we both told Dr. Boswell that we would like to complete our college education there. He immediately turned around to his telephone and called Dr. Francis Hutchins, President of Berea College, and told him that he had two outstanding students that would like to come to his school. Dr. Hutchins responded that we were accepted to attend. After graduation from Berea, George went to medical school at the University of Louisville and has practiced family medicine in North Carolina since. I went to Vanderbilt University School of Medicine with two scholarships given to me by Dr. Hutchins. 30
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FALL 2021
Cancer Research
A chievements F Contributed to 350 Scientific Publications F Invited to present his work in 40 states and 22 countries F Founding director of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center F Served as President of the American Association for Cancer Research and the Association of American Cancer Institutes F Founded and directed the Frances William Preston Laboratories F Founding chair of National Cancer Policy Forum for the National Academy of Medicine
