Dr. Archie Bleyer’s interest in Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Oncology began in the mid 1990s when he became aware that the progress in cancer he had personally witnessed in children had not occurred in adolescents. As Chair of the Children’s Cancer Group, he formed the CCG AYA Committee and in 1999, had the U.S. National Cancer Institute conduct a workshop on the topic. He subsequently engaged the Children’s Oncology Group, NCI Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program, U.S. President’s Cancer Panel, American Society of Clinical Oncology, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Lance Armstrong Foundation and Aflac Insurance Company in a national AYA oncology initiative. The initiative has since been joined by the United Kingdom’s Teenage Cancer Trust, U.S. NCI Director’s Office (Program Review Group), Planet Cancer, First Descents, CanTeen, Teen Impact, Enzon Pharmaceuticals, CancerCare, Hyundai Corporation, and multiple cancer centers in the U.S., Australia, and Europe. During his pediatric oncology career, Dr. Bleyer was awarded more than $75 million research grants as a Principal Investigator from the National Institutes of Health, American Cancer Society, and Leukemia Society of America. His current clinical research mission is dedicated to improving the outcome of young adults with cancer who have not fared as well as younger and older patients. Email: [email protected]