HonorHealth Research Institute

11/24/2025

On Saturday, more than 100 HonorHealth Ambassadors came together for our seventh annual Ambassador Give Back Day, partnering with nonprofit organizations across the Valley to make a meaningful impact in the communities where we live and work.

From packing meals to revitalizing homes, supporting community gardens and tackling hunger, our teams brought energy and heart to every project.

Give Back Day is one of our favorite traditions because it reflects our commitment to the communities we serve. We’re grateful for every Ambassador who stepped up to make a real difference. 💜

11/24/2025

Another successful HonorHealth Desert Mission Food Bank turkey distribution is in the books!

On Saturday nearly 2,000 turkeys were passed out and matched with full Thanksgiving meal fixings for local families. This incredible effort was made possible by our dedicated Desert Mission team members and volunteers who showed up with a heart for service and overflowing holiday spirit.

For more than 25 years Desert Mission has supported Phoenix-area families with holiday meals thanks to the generosity of our community. To help provide for a family in need this season, please visit desertmission.com/donate.

11/24/2025

Hours after surgery, she walked for the first time in years.

After over a decade of unusual symptoms — and no answers — Natalie found hope at the Bob Bové Neuroscience Institute at HonorHealth.

Dr. Peter Nakaji, a leading neurosurgeon and member of the HonorHealth Medical Staff, discovered a rare vein condition that 22 specialists had missed.

💙 Learn more about Natalie’s life-changing surgery, what happened next and the neuroscience team that made her recovery possible.

A Valley teen's life is restored after surgery.

11/23/2025

Think Movember is just about mustaches? Not by a hair.

Movember is also a reminder that men’s health issues deserve attention. HonorHealth doctors are sharing why prevention, checkups and open conversations about stress, prostate and testicular health matter more than ever.

Don’t miss this eye-opening conversation: https://bit.ly/4o72pqC

11/23/2025

The flu can knock you down faster than you can say "sick day." But here's the kicker: you can get ahead of it.

HonorHealth makes it easy with flu shots available at our primary care locations — no appointment needed, just walk in.

Anyone 6 months and older should roll up their sleeves. From toddlers to grandparents, the flu doesn't discriminate. And with RSV and COVID-19 still lurking, getting the flu vaccine helps everyone you care about.

Don't wait for the cough and chills to hit. Protect yourself, your family and your community now.

Get a flu vaccine at any of our primary care locations.

11/22/2025

We're not just treating pancreatic cancer — we're rewriting stories.

Take Saundra, a fun-loving grandmother diagnosed at stage 4. Given just months to live, she enrolled in a clinical trial at HonorHealth Research Institute. Nearly a year later, her latest CT scan revealed an almost normal pancreas. "It's amazing," she says. "I feel wonderful."

Clinical trials like the one that helped Saundra are showing remarkable results, even for advanced cases. With a response rate of up to 80%, our patients are seeing their tumors shrink and surviving longer.

November is National Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month. If you or a loved one is facing this battle, don't settle for standard care. Explore the innovative cancer treatments and clinical trials available at HonorHealth.

Doctors gave her months to live. We gave her hope.

11/21/2025

What if you could stress less by living more like the world’s healthiest people?

The Blue Zones — those rare spots where people live longer, happier lives — have a few secrets worth borrowing.

From breathing techniques to mini breaks, we rounded up seven Blue Zones-inspired stress busters that actually work.

Find your calm 🧘

Explore the Blue Zones habits that promote calm.

11/21/2025

Think you’d spot the warning signs of diabetes? Most people don’t.

Some symptoms are so subtle that they're easy to ignore — but those little red flags could be warning lights.

Find out what your body might be trying to tell you.

A diagnosis of diabetes or pre-diabetes can feel like a setback, but with careful monitoring, it can be managed. Learn more from the experts at HonorHealth

11/20/2025

A Valley woman is fighting for her life after a hit and run left her in the ICU at HonorHealth Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center.

Thanks to the incredible team at HonorHealth, she’s getting the emergency care she needs while law enforcement pursues the driver.

Read the full story on FOX 10 Phoenix.

A Valley mother is appealing to the public for help finding the driver who hit her 20-year-old daughter, Isabella Batty, while she was riding her motorcycle and fled the scene.

11/19/2025

What's behind the glass? The future of world-class brain and spine care, right here in Arizona.

Inside the Bob Bové Neuroscience Institute at HonorHealth, experts are fusing the latest technology with precision and compassion to reimagine what’s possible for people living with all kinds of neurologic challenges.

Take a peek inside and discover how we’re providing the medicine of tomorrow.

11/19/2025

Wrap gifts, not bandages. From ladder slips to kitchen mishaps, holiday accidents can happen in the blink of an eye — or the twinkle of a light.

When they do, HonorHealth Urgent Care is ready to get you back to celebrating.

Find your nearest location 📍

Get holiday help faster than you can trim your tree.

10/03/2025

Join A Cure In Sight™ and HonorHealth Research Institute in Scottsdale on Sunday, Nov. 16 | 8–11AM at El Dorado Park for a walk/run to raise awareness and funds for ocular melanoma, a rare eye cancer with ~3,000 new cases each year in the U.S.

Here in Scottsdale, the HonorHealth Research Institute, led by Dr. Justin Moser, is leading cutting-edge efforts to monitor and treat patients at risk—or already battling metastatic disease or ocular melanoma.

👟 Bring your friends and family—all ages welcome—to take steps toward finding a cure. Let’s move together for hope, research, and community. 💙

The Lookin For A Cure Scottsdale is on Sunday November 16, 2025. It includes the following events: Lookin' For A Cure 5K and Virtual Lookin' For A Cure 5K.

09/19/2025

HonorHealth Research Institute proudly hosted the fourth Oncology Advanced Practitioner (AP) Clinical Investigator Intensive Course from September 10–13. This four-day program brought together Nurse Practitioners from leading cancer centers across the country, all dedicated to advancing their roles in cancer clinical research.

Participants engaged in a rigorous curriculum designed to prepare them for the responsibilities of a Principal Investigator (PI) in oncology trials.

The course featured internationally recognized oncology clinical investigators as faculty, who provided comprehensive instruction on the roles and responsibilities of P*s, sub-investigators, and research team members.

One attendee shared, “The opportunity allowed me to expand my knowledge, forge valuable connections, and I am excited to implement the insights gained in advancing care through research and clinical trials.”

09/17/2025

Earlier this month, Dr. Frederic Zenhausern was invited as a plenary speaker at the Global Conference on Research and Application of EVs in Guangzhou, China.

He presented HonorHealth Research Institute’s joint work with the University of Arizona on plant extracellular vesicles (EVs) — an emerging field gaining significant momentum as China increases investment in modernizing Traditional Chinese Medicine.

The Research Institute is already building on this momentum here in Arizona with publications and grants preparation to study local desert plants alongside Asian species in the search for novel therapeutics. This work will include collaborations with Biosphere 2 and a local farming company.

HonorHealth Research Institute is proud to be at the forefront of advancing plant EV science and forging international partnerships that could lead to new treatments for patients worldwide.

08/26/2025

HonorHealth Research Institute was the first site in the world to administer a new treatment for pancreatic cancer, combining the power of targeted drugs and ultra-sound technology to shrink the tumors of patients whose cancer has not spread to other parts of the body but is too advanced to allow safe surgical removal.

Acoustic Cluster Therapy (ACT) uses tiny clusters of gas bubbles and oil droplets that make up PS101, which is combined with a modified version of the combination drug FOLFIRINOX. The agent PS101 is infused into the bloodstream. High-frequency ultrasound is then applied in and around the pancreas tumor, causing PS101 to form larger ACT bubbles that are temporarily lodged in capillaries.

The high-frequency ultrasound is followed by low-frequency ultrasound, which induces oscillation of the lodged ACT bubbles, enhancing the delivery of the chemotherapy directly to the cancer.

“This process increases the amount of drug that reaches the tumor, increasing its effectiveness, without increasing the amount of drug affecting the rest of the body, where it potentially could cause systemic toxicity,” said Erkut Borazanci, M.D., medical director of the Research Institute’s Oncology Research Division. “If the patient’s tumor shrinks, these patients then might be candidates for surgical removal of the tumor, which gives them the best chance for survival.”

For more about HonorHealth Research Institute clinical trials: call 833-354-6667; or email clinicaltrials@HonorHealth.com.

08/19/2025

Laura Goetz, M.D., MPH, one of the nation’s leading advocates for moving new translational laboratory discoveries into clinical practice where they can immediately benefit patients, has been named HonorHealth Research Institute’s first Research Director of Precision Medicine.

In her new position, within the Research Institute’s Center for Clinical Investigations, Dr. Goetz will develop protocols emphasizing disease prevention for all five of the Institute’s research divisions: Oncology, Cardiovascular, Neuroscience, Bariatric/GI, and Multispecialty, which includes the Institute’s newest research efforts. These protocols will also involve, enhance and complement the practices and interests of physicians who are part of HonorHealth’s network of hospitals and community clinics.

Sunil Sharma, M.D., MBA, FACP, Director of the Institute’s Center for Translational Science, said, “I am so looking forward to the guidance and sensitivity to patients’ needs that Dr. Goetz will bring to our enterprises. I am very enthusiastic about how she will contribute to precision medicine and our goal of creating new methods of early disease detection, and even disease interception, stopping the disease before debilitating symptoms can even develop.”

08/19/2025

Nicholas J. Schork, Ph.D., an international authority on human longevity and health maintenance, has joined HonorHealth Research Institute as Research Director of Longevity, Prevention and Interception.

Dr. Schork heads a unique laboratory that is part of the Research Institute’s newly created Center for Translational Science, and his appointment is part of a significant push on the part of the Institute to expand its collaborations and the realm of precision medicine possibilities; providing specific answers to individual patients with rare or difficult to treat diseases.

“It’s all about optimizing people’s health,” said Dr. Schork, who has trained and worked at some of the nation’s prominent health research facilities.

In welcoming Dr. Schork and his expertise to HonorHealth, Michael Gordon, M.D., FASCO, Chief Medical Officer of the Research Institute, said: “Ultimately, it’s all about living longer, living better, reducing the risk of disease and promoting longevity. We want to emphasize prevention and interception — whether it's intercepting in the evolution of cardiovascular disease or intercepting in the evolution of cancer — we want to find more and more sensitive ways to diagnose disease earlier; to intervene before people develop a symptomatic disorder that compromises their function; their ability to live.”