Saint Luke’s Innovation Week Profile: Dr. Timothy Pluard

Dr. Timothy Pluard is a man on a mission.

As medical director at Saint Luke’s Cancer Institute, the Paul Koontz Endowed Chair of Breast Disease at the University of Missouri-KC School of Medicine, and medical director of the Saint Luke’s Koontz Center for Advanced Breast Cancer, Dr. Pluard is laser-focused on improving treatment for cancer patients, helping them not only live longer but also have a higher quality of life.

Growing up, Dr. Pluard always knew he wanted to be a doctor. However, in college, computers suddenly captured his interest and he took a detour. He transferred to engineering school and launched a small software company. Thankfully, someone he admired encouraged him to give medical school a try before fully committing to engineering.

After starting his residency, he chose to specialize in oncology because he viewed it as being a dynamic field that would change rapidly over the course of his career. His prediction became reality.

Already well-established as a national leader in treating metastatic breast cancer, Dr. Pluard accepted the position of Saint Luke’s Cancer Institute Medical Director in 2013. In his time here, he has established two world-class centers for cancer care.

The Saint Luke’s Koontz Center for Advanced Breast Cancer (Koontz Center) was launched in 2016, as a highly specialized treatment center dedicated to metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients. There are few similar centers in the country, with none to match it in the Midwest. The mission of the Koontz Center is to treat the whole person, providing not only access to the latest treatments and clinical trials, but also offering nutritional, physical, psychological, and spiritual support as part of an individualized treatment plan.

“My proudest achievement is that I’ve been able to help so many patients on the journey with MBC, but also I think the Koontz Center has been a beacon for change in how we care for MBC patients.”

In 2017, Dr. Pluard was instrumental in launching the Saint Luke’s Center for Precision Oncology. The center brings together experts in clinical oncology, tumor genomics, and computational biology. Through genomic analysis, oncologists are able to identify the specific tumor drivers for each patient and create a targeted, customized treatment plan uniquely designed to attack that patient’s cancer. There is nothing like it within a 450-mile radius.

“My underlying interest has always been in the science of oncology and that is really a passion of mine,” said Dr. Pluard. “The Center of Precision Oncology is an integral part of what we do at the Koontz Center because we know in breast cancer there are specific mutations that need targeted therapy. It becomes increasingly important to know those driver mutations so we can utilize specific drugs to target them.”

Looking ahead, Dr. Pluard is excited for the continued advancement in cancer treatment.

“Knowing the genomics has been really transformational, but it’s just the beginning. I think our unraveling of the protein networks and the immune system and how they play a role in cancer is really in its infancy. We have some drugs that are now immune checkpoint inhibitors, but that is just one section of the symphony, and we got to understand the whole of it.”