The next chapter in the career of Peter Shields, MD, has begun. “Now I get to do what I started out doing … seeing patients and doing research,” he said. Shields recently stepped down as deputy director of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, a position he has held for more than a decade. Under his leadership, the Center continued to grow at a rapid rate and has become established as one of the leading cancer-research institutions in the world. But Shields, a lung-cancer specialist, is definitely not retiring. He will continue to see patients and do research. And, he is also in the midst of becoming licensed as a paramedic. “I had this passion as an undergraduate and in medical school for being an (emergency medical technician) and riding in ambulances, going to places where people really need help.” As deputy director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center, Shields recruited new physicians and scientists, helped pull together teams that collaborated to do research and apply for grants, and he helped created the Pelotonia Institute for Immuno-Oncology and the Center for Tobacco Research. “My job was to be a catalyst,” he explained. “It’s not me doing the research, but it’s understanding that this is the direction we need to go and fostering collaborations and providing our great people with the tools they need.”