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City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center Stacy Gray, MD, is one of six physicians to receive an inaugural "Genomic Innovator Award" from the National Human Genome Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The award was created in 2018 to support the early careers of researchers studying genome biology, genomic medicine, technology development, and societal implications of genomic advances. Dr. Gray will receive $2.65 million over a five-year period.   Read More

Duke Cancer Institute, Duke University Medical Center A group of clinical researchers, led by Duke Cancer Institute’s Andrew Armstrong, MD, MSc, FACP, have reported on results from the ARCHES study. ARCHES prospectively evaluated the efficacy and safety of enzalutamide, an androgen-receptor inhibitor, in conjunction with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in men with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer, compared to ADT alone.   Read More

Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University In early test tube and mouse studies, investigators at Johns Hopkins Medicine and the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have found that nonmuscle myosin IIC (MYH14), a protein activated in response to mechanical stress, helps promote metastatic behavior in pancreatic cancer cells, and that the compound 4-hydroxyacetophenone (4-HAP), known to stiffen myosin IIC-containing cells, can send it into overdrive, overwhelming…

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center In companion presentations at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiation Oncology Annual Meeting in Chicago, doctors from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center reported new evidence that low-dose aspirin and other anti-inflammatories may improve survival in patients undergoing treatment for some head/neck and lung cancers. Both research efforts were led by Anurag Singh, MD.   Read More

The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute Yiping Yang, MD, PhD, has been named director of the Division of Hematology at the OSUCCC – James and The Ohio State University College of Medicine. He was previously co-director of the hematologic malignancies and cell therapies program and professor of medicine/immunology at Duke Cancer Institute and Duke University School of Medicine. Read More

Karmanos Cancer Institute, Wayne State University The Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute announces that David I. Sternberg, MD, thoracic surgeon, has joined its medical team as of August 1. Board-certified in general and cardiothoracic surgery, and specialized in minimally invasive chest surgery, Dr. Sternberg will serve on the Thoracic Oncology Multidisciplinary Team.   Read More

The University of Kansas Cancer Center While people in rural areas across the U.S. are less likely than urban dwellers to be diagnosed with cancer, they are more likely to die from it. A multidisciplinary team of researchers from The University of Kansas Cancer Center has received a five-year, $2.25 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to study why there are survival rate disparities in rural parts of Kansas, and how to improve them.   Read More

City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center The American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) has named Jeffrey N. Weitzel, MD, and Kathleen Blazer, EDD, MS, LCGC, as the 2019 recipients of the Arno Motulsky-Barton Childs Award for Excellence in Human Genetics Education. Dr. Weitzel is chief of the Division of Clinical Cancer Genomics and the Cancer Screening and Prevention Program at City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Blazer directs City of Hope’s Cancer Genomics Education Program.   Read…

Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University A cell adhesion protein, E-cadherin, allows breast cancer cells to survive as they travel through the body and form new tumors, say researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. The findings, obtained from laboratory experiments and in mouse models, help explain how metastasis works in invasive ductal carcinoma. Andrew Ewald, PhD, led the study. Read More

UMMC Cancer Center and Research Institute Shannon Orr, MD, has been named chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology, a new division in the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s Department of Surgery. Other changes involving surgical members were also announced.   Read More

University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center The Bone Marrow Transplant program at the UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center recently received accreditation by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT). The accreditation covers the clinical, collection, and laboratory components of the Bone Marrow Transplant program and enables the program to offer more treatment options and transplant clinical trials. Matthew Fero, MD, FACP, and his team are planning for accreditation …

Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple Health Marcin Chwistek, MD, FAAHPM, has been appointed editor-in-chief of AAHPM Quarterly, which is published by the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Dr. Chwistek is an associate professor in the Department of Hematology/Oncology at Fox Chase, where he is also director of the Pain and Palliative Care Program. Read More

Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center Jame Abraham, MD, FACP, has been appointed the new chair of the Hematology/Medical Oncology Department at Cleveland Clinic. In this capacity, he will recruit and develop staff, and guide the department’s focus on patient access and a multidisciplinary approach to care. Dr. Abraham currently serves as the director of the Breast Oncology Program at Taussig Cancer Institute and co-director of the Cleveland Clinic Comprehensive Breast Cancer Program. …

UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute An article co-authored by Jerad Gardner, MD, at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) demonstrates the ability to use international Facebook patient support groups to rapidly reach large numbers of rare cancer survivors. The study reports international disease-relevant statistics from 214 survivors of dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans.   Read More

UK Markey Cancer Center Researchers at the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center have made a breakthrough discovery that solves a mystery long forgotten by science and have identified a potentially novel avenue in pre-clinical models to treat non-small cell lung cancers. The research centers on the function of glycogen accumulation in the nucleus of a cell.   Read More

Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah has announced the appointment of Scott Pingree, MBA, MPA, to serve as the organization’s chief strategy officer. Pingree has held a variety of prior executive roles in major health care and business consultancy organizations.   Read More

This fall, AACI will welcome six new members to its Clinical Research Innovation (CRI) and Government Relations (GR) Forum steering committees. The new members will formally assume their duties during the 2019 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting, October 20-22, in Washington, DC, alongside new steering committee leadership.   Read More

Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson Health Thomas Jefferson University researchers studying the effects of cigarette smoke on tumor progression show that cigarette smoke reprograms the cells surrounding the cancer cells, and helps drive head and neck squamous cell carcinoma aggressiveness. Read More

The University of Kansas Cancer Center The University of Kansas Cancer Center and Midwest Cancer Alliance have been awarded a grant to expand the reach of cancer clinical trials to rural communities in Kansas. The six-year grant designates the team as a minority/underserved community site of the National Cancer Institute’s Community Oncology Research Program. There are 14 such sites in the U.S., and the cancer center/Midwest Cancer Alliance is the only site funded that focuses on rural c…

Barry Paul Sleckman, MD, PhD, a world-renowned researcher who focuses on understanding how DNA double strand breaks are generated and repaired, has been named director of the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Currently an associate director of the Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medicine, Dr. Sleckman will begin his new role at UAB on January 6, 2020. Read More

Robert Winn, MD, has been named director of Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center. Dr. Winn, an expert in lung cancer and community-based health care, will start at VCU on December 2. He joins VCU from the University of Illinois at Chicago where he has served as director of the University of Illinois Cancer Center.   Read More

The 2019 AACI Clinical Research Innovation (CRI) Abstracts and Posters Book is now available to AACI members. The book features 66 abstracts from 24 cancer centers submitted for presentation at the 11th Annual AACI CRI Meeting this past July. This year’s submissions reflected an increase in collaboration between AACI members, vendors, and community partners, and covered topics in several categories.    Read More

Inspiring patient advocates delivered messages of hope and perseverance at the 2019 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting, in Washington, DC. The event convened more than 450 AACI cancer center directors and executive-level administrators with industry and government health agencies to develop solutions to common challenges and share best practices. The AACI Annual Meeting Program Committee was chaired by Michael B. Kastan, MD, PhD, director of the Duke Cancer Institute.   Read More

UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center The Cancer Research Institute has awarded Antoni Ribas, MD, PhD, director of the tumor immunology program at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, with the 2019 William B. Coley Award. Dr. Ribas was honored for his distinguished research in basic and tumor immunology, including his development of stem cell-based adoptive cell therapies.   Read More

AACI cancer center directors are invited to submit nominations for the 2020 Champion for Cures Award. AACI established the award in 2018 to recognize an individual or individuals who, through direct financial support of an AACI cancer center, demonstrate exceptional leadership in advancing cancer research and care and in inspiring others to do the same. The Champion for Cures Award was presented at the 2019 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting to Brynn and Peter Huntsman (pictured) of the Jon M. and Karen …

National Cancer Institute Acting Director Douglas Lowy, MD, received the Distinguished Scientist Award on October 21, during the 2019 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. Dr. Lowy accepted the award after delivering a talk titled "Preventing Cancer by HPV Vaccination." Following Dr. Lowy’s talk, an awards luncheon highlighted the Public Service Award recipients, Representatives Kathy Castor (D-FL) and Fred Upton (R-MI), and the Jon M. and Karen Huntsman family, who received AACI’s Champi…

The AACI Public Policy Resource Library went live on October 21, during the 2019 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. The resource library is the presidential initiative of Roy A. Jensen, MD, AACI president and director of The University of Kansas Cancer Center. It will enable cancer centers and partners in the cancer advocacy community to share resources in order to foster collaboration, promote cancer prevention, and spur the development of sound public health policy at the state and l…

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center Colorectal cancer researchers from Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center have been awarded a Specialized Program of Research Excellence grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The Gastrointestinal SPORE grant is for a five-year period totaling $11.6 million. The researchers, led by principal investigator Robert Coffey, MD, have succeeded in securing continuous SPORE funding since an initial grant in 2002.   Read More

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center Breast cancer researchers at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center have secured a fourth round of continuous Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) funding. The SPORE in Breast Cancer grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) is for a five-year period totaling $11.6 million. Applications for SPORE funding are highly competitive. Including Vanderbilt, currently there are only five medical research centers in the nation with SPOREs in Breast Cance…

Siteman Cancer Center The National Cancer Institute has awarded $7.6 million to Washington University in St. Louis to create a research center that will develop ways to implement proven cancer control interventions among disadvantaged rural and urban populations in Missouri and Illinois. The Washington University Implementation Science Center for Cancer Control will seek to eliminate cancer disparities with rapid-cycle studies that put findings into practice quickly. It will be led by a …

University of Hawai'i Cancer Center, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center received a $6.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to significantly improve access to experimental treatments for cancer patients in Hawaiʻi. The Early Phase Cancer Clinical Research Center will be named Hoʻōla, Hawaiian for "healing." The clinic will focus on early phase clinical trials and be the first of its kind in the state. Read More

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Varian have announced a new strategic collaboration to develop an integrated software platform to streamline review of radiation oncology treatment plans. The goal of the platform is to establish an efficient framework to connect participating sites to a central database, allowing MD Anderson physicians to host collaborative review sessions around treatment plans and to communicate pla…

Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University In a novel study comparing healthy cells from people in their twenties with cells from people in their eighties, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have documented that cell division rates appear to consistently and markedly slow down in humans at older ages. The researchers say the findings may help explain why cancer—long considered a disease of aging, with incidence highest among people over age 6…

Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah The International Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Foundation has awarded the Rowley Prize to Michael Deininger, MD, PhD. Dr. Deininger leads the Center of Excellence in hematology and hematologic malignancies at Huntsman Cancer Institute. His work focuses on the role of tyrosine kinases, enzymes that regulate important cell functions such as cell growth and survival.   Read More

University of Virginia Cancer Center A new discovery about pancreatic cancer sheds light on how the cancer fuels its growth and may help explain how promising cancer drugs work — and for whom they will fail. The new discovery represents the fulfillment of years of work for David F. Kashatus, PhD, who first proposed the research project while interviewing at the University of Virgnia in 2012.   Read More

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Claus Torp Jensen, PhD, has joined Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) as its first chief digital officer and head of technology. Dr. Jensen joins MSK from CVS Health and Aetna, where he served as chief technology officer and head of architecture, leading technology innovation, business transformation incubation, architecture planning and design, and digital integration.   Read More

Yale Cancer Center, Yale School of Medicine Yale Cancer Center researchers were awarded a $3.8 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to develop a new cytokine-based immunotherapy for melanoma. The scientists and their laboratories will collaborate to perform advanced preclinical testing and characterization of their drug to enable first-in-patient clinical trials as early as 2021.   Read More

Moffitt Cancer Center Moffitt Cancer Center has secured a new grant from the Department of Defense to advance immunotherapy research for patients whose breast cancer has metastasized to the brain. The four-year, $8.3 million Breakthrough Award from the DoD’s Breast Cancer Research Program will fund a Phase II clinical trial led by Brian Czerniecki, MD, PhD.   Read More

Siteman Cancer Center Neurologist David H. Gutmann, MD, PhD, has received the Abhijit Guha Award from the Society for Neuro-Oncology and the Section on Tumors of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons/Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The award honors an accomplished investigator who has achieved significant results in the laboratory and the clinic while mentoring the next generation of neuro-oncology professionals.   Read More

University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center University of Michigan School of Dentistry faculty member Yu Leo Lei, DDS, PhD, is the principal investigator for research on new cancer prevention therapies funded by a grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. The five-year, $3.8 million grant supports research that is part of the NCI’s Immuno-Oncology Translational Network.   Read More

UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center The UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center has launched a pioneering chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) immunotherapy trial that will attack cancer cells by simultaneously recognizing two targets—CD19 and CD20—that are expressed on B-cell lymphoma and leukemia. By launching a bilateral attack instead of using the conventional single-target approach, researchers are hoping to minimize resistance and increase life expectancy for people diagnosed with thes…

O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Something happens in the months and years after cancer patients receive a blood or marrow transplant (BMT) from donor cells. Rather, for about a third of those patients, something doesn’t happen. Even as they recover from the exhausting BMT procedure—which obliterates their body’s own, faulty blood cell machinery and then holds their immune systems in a straitjacket while the donor cells establish themselves—th…

Duke Cancer Institute, Duke University Medical Center Carolyn Menendez, MD, FACS, assistant professor of surgical oncology, has been appointed director of Duke Cancer Institute’s Clinical Cancer Genetics Program. In her newly appointed position leading Clinical Cancer Genetics, including the Hereditary Cancer Clinic, Dr. Menendez will provide leadership, strategy, and oversight for the clinic.   Read More

Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University Jyoti Patel, MD, has joined Northwestern Medicine as medical director of thoracic oncology and assistant director for clinical research at the Lurie Cancer Center. She will also serve as associate vice chair for clinical research in the Department of Medicine.   Read More

Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah Huntsman Cancer Institute has been awarded $2.5 million from the National Cancer Institute’s Youth Enjoy Science Research Education Program to engage Utah high school students and their teachers in cancer research. The program will engage racial and ethnic minorities, economically disadvantaged students, and rural and frontier residents from across Utah in order to increase diversity in biomedical research.   Read More

Moffitt Cancer Center Moffitt Cancer Center has launched a first-of-its-kind contract research organization focused on accelerating immunotherapy research. The subsidiary will provide a one-stop shop for pharmaceutical and biotech companies to accelerate their immuno-oncology and cell therapy research through collaborative clinical trial support and administration.   Read More

University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center The UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center has joined the landmark international Tomosynthesis Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial (TMIST), which compares the screening efficacy of 3-D mammography (tomosynthesis) and 2-D digital mammography. Ursa Brown-Glaberman, MD, co-leads the cancer center's Breast Team and serves as the principal investigator for New Mexico.   Read More

The University of Kansas Cancer Center Ronald Chen, MD, MPH, has been named the Brandmeyer Chair and professor of radiation oncology at the University of Kansas School of Medicine, clinical service chief at The University of Kansas Health System, and associate director for health equity at The University of Kansas Cancer Center. Dr. Chen joins KU from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, where he served as the radiation oncology program director.   Read More

The University of Kansas Cancer Center In an episode of The University of Kansas Cancer Center’s weekly Facebook Live series, Bench to Bedside, Roy Jensen, MD, director of KU Cancer Center and AACI president, and Matthias Salathe, MD, discuss the latest in vaping research. Dr. Salathe conducted a study that discovered vaping with nicotine causes sticky mucus that may lead to chronic illness.    Watch the Video

University of Virginia Cancer Center Scientists at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have discovered a strange new organelle inside our cells that helps to prevent cancer by ensuring that genetic material is sorted correctly as cells divide. The researchers have connected problems with the organelle to a subset of breast cancer tumors that make lots of mistakes when segregating chromosomes.   Read More

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center A new study describes how gamma secretase inhibitors, or GSIs, can reverse a disappearing act that multiple myeloma pulls on the immune system. That ability to vanish even tricks T cells that are genetically programmed to home in on and attack myeloma cells. But scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have found that GSIs, experimental drugs originally tested for Alzheimer's, can disable cancer’s cloaking device.    Read More

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center A recent Children’s Oncology Group study identified a treatment algorithm that can help reduce therapy for some patients with intermediate-risk neuroblastoma, while maintaining good clinical outcomes. The study’s findings suggest that many infants and young children with this disease may be spared unpleasant or lingering side effects of prolonged therapy. Lead researcher is Clare Twist, MD, of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.   Re…

Ellen and Ronald Caplan Cancer Center of The Wistar Institute Scientists at The Wistar Institute described a novel mechanism through which astrocytes, the most abundant supporting cells in the brain, also promote cancer cell growth and metastasis in the brain. According to the study, astrocytes provide fatty acids that activate the PPAR-gamma pathway in cancer cells, enhancing their proliferation.   Read More

University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center Measuring glycogen levels in cell lines representing triple-negative breast cancer, inflammatory breast cancer, hormone receptor positive breast cancer, and normal breast cells, Sofia D. Merajver, MD, PhD, found that aggressive cancers stored glycogen in very large amounts, depending on available oxygen.    Read More

Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple Health Richard J. Bleicher, MD, FACS, has been awarded the 2020 Jamie Brooke Lieberman Remembrance Award from Susan G. Komen® Philadelphia for his work in the breast cancer community. Dr. Bleicher is a breast cancer surgeon and clinical researcher at Fox Chase. He serves as the director of the breast fellowship and leader of the Breast Cancer Program at Fox Chase.   Read More

American Society for Radiation Oncology The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) is now accepting applications for its residents/fellows seed and early career development 2020 grant cycle awards. Also, new ASTRO-Industry Research Training Fellowships will offer research training opportunities for residents to work at either an AstraZeneca site or a Varian site starting on July 1, 2020. One fellowship per site will be offered and provides salary support for up to one year. US-b…

Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson Health A new study from Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson Health investigates whether a non-invasive method of ultrasound imaging, combined with a Google platform machine-learning algorithm, could be used as a rapid and inexpensive first screen for thyroid cancer.   Read More

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center The three-drug combination of encorafenib, binimetinib, and cetuximab significantly improved overall survival in patients with BRAF-mutated metastatic colorectal cancer, according to results of the BEACON CRC Phase III clinical trial led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Principal investigator is Scott Kopetz, MD.   Read More

Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Iowa Disrupting a metabolic pathway in the liver in a way that creates a more “cancer-like” metabolism actually reduces tumor formation in a mouse model of liver cancer. That's the surprising and potentially useful finding from a new UI study led by Eric Taylor, PhD, which shows that the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier, a protein complex that is critical for glucose production in the liver, may represent a new target for preventing liver c…

Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple Health Researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center say a new, more accurate, genomic sequencing classifier allows patients to avoid one in five surgeries for thyroid cancer because it more accurately classifies samples taken from thyroid nodules compared to earlier versions of the technology. Shuanzeng Wei, MD, PhD, is the lead researcher.   Read More

Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University A research team from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center reports it has discovered a metabolic vulnerability in multiple types of cancer cells that bear a common genetic mutation affecting cellular machines called spliceosomes. In test tube and mouse experiments, the researchers learned that the resulting spliceosome malfunction cripples the cells’ chemical process for generating the amino acid serine, making the ca…

Duke Cancer Institute, Duke University Medical Center Yousuf Zafar, MD, associate professor of medicine and public policy, has been appointed director of healthcare innovation at Duke Cancer Institute. Dr. Zafar will be responsible for articulating a vision of value-based innovation in cancer care delivery. He will collaborate with representatives within Duke Cancer Institute, the Duke University Health System, and external stakeholders.   Read More

City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center Betty Ferrell, PhD, FAAN, FPCN, MA, director and professor of the Division of Nursing Research and Education at City of Hope, was elected to become a member of the National Academy of Medicine. The academy honored her for her pioneering work in palliative and end-of-life care, which includes developing and leading the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium. The consortium has trainers in 99 countries and all 50 states.   Read More

UMMC Cancer Center and Research Institute Three members of the UMMC Cancer Center and Research Institute were honored at the medical center's annual Excellence in Research Awards event. Shou-Ching Tang, MD, PhD, Vani Vijayakumar, MD, and Keli Xu, PhD, were recognized for their achievements in gaining outside funding. The awards are based on the cumulative amount of extramural funding received by the investigator for their original research over their career at UMMC.   Read More

The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute A discovery by researchers at OSUCC – James may help scientists understand why some tumors lack immune cell infiltration and are unresponsive to newer PD-1 targeted therapies. Yiping Yang, MD, PhD, and colleagues reported data showing the specific mechanisms that limit the ability of CD8 T cells to infiltrate the tumor microenvironment.   Read More

VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 7 (CDK7) plays a key role in controlling transcription of three genes that help tumor cells proliferate in patients with multiple myeloma. Researchers at VCU Massey Cancer Center, led by principal investigator Steven Grant, MD, have found that a CDK7 inhibitor, THZ1, effectively reduced and suppressed the transcription of the three genes—MCL-1, BCL-xL, and c-Myc—and led to induction of tumor cell death.   Re…

UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center Arthur "Art" Weiss, MD, PhD, received a 2019 William B. Coley Award for Distinguished Research in Basic and Tumor Immunology/Basic Immunology from the Cancer Research Institute for his contributions on CAR T-cell therapy.   Read More

UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center The Global Cancer Program at UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center has received a U54 award for a partnership with the National Cancer Institute and National Institute of Public Health in Mexico, and the University of Puerto Rico, to establish The CAlifornia-Mexico-Puerto RicO (CAMPO) Collaboration for Prevention of HPV-related cancer in HIV-positive individuals. Together, CAMPO Collaboration will examine innovative appr…

Please join us in 2020 for two signature events: AACI's Clinical Research Innovation (CRI) annual meeting, July 7 - 9, in Chicago, and the AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting, October 11 - 13, in Kansas City, home of The University of Kansas Cancer Center, led by AACI President Roy Jensen. Registration details will be available soon.

Cedars-Sinai Cancer Dan Theodorescu, MD, PhD, director of Cedars-Sinai Cancer, has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Dr. Theodorescu, an internationally recognized translational cancer researcher and leading expert in bladder cancer, was selected by his peers for his efforts in advancing science breakthroughs and innovation.   Read More

Stanford Cancer Institute Women with early-stage breast cancer that has a specific pattern of gene expression are more likely than others to benefit from treatment with a class of common but potentially harmful chemotherapy drugs called anthracyclines, according to researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Christina Curtis, PhD, and Gerald Crabtree, MD, are senior authors.   Read More

Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Stephenson Cancer Center has announced a $20 million gift from the Stephenson Family Foundation and Peggy and Charles Stephenson, the center’s namesakes and longtime supporters of the University of Oklahoma. Stephenson Cancer Center is committed to raising an additional $20 million to expand its research mission. Robert S. Mannel, MD, is director of the cancer center.   Read More

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center Roswell Park received more than $21.8 million in recent competitive grants and contracts to launch new investigations or continue promising research efforts. This includes a five-year, $4.1 million allocation from the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Moonshot program to Kunle Odunsi, MD, PhD, FRCOG, FACOG, and Danuta Kozbor, PhD, in cooperation with Andrea Gambotto, MD, of the University of Pittsburgh, to explore ways to reprogram the cells and …

The Association of American Cancer Institutes welcomes back Norman E. Sharpless, MD, as director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Dr. Sharpless served for seven months as acting commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, following his initial appointment as NCI director a little over two years ago. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced Dr. Sharpless’s return to the NCI on November 1.   Read More

Ellen and Ronald Caplan Cancer Center of The Wistar Institute The Wistar Institute and Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) in the Netherlands formalized a memorandum of understanding between the two institutions to explore a postdoctoral training exchange program in immunology, cancer research, and vaccine biology. The Wistar-Schoemaker International Postdoctoral Fellowship would bring recent PhD graduates trained at LUMC to Wistar to advance their research education under the mentor…

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have reported that secondary tumor-reduction, or cytoreduction, surgery followed by chemotherapy did not result in longer survival than chemotherapy alone in patients with platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer. Robert L. Coleman, MD, is lead investigator.   Read More

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and the University of Puerto Rico received a competitive renewal of their Comprehensive Partnerships to Advance Cancer Health Equity grant from the National Cancer Institute, totaling $13 million over five years. This is the fourth funding award for the institutions’ Partnership for Excellence in Cancer Research, which has been ongoing since 2002. It will continue to support collaborative …

WVU Cancer Institute Hannah Hazard-Jenkins, MD, has been named interim director of the WVU Cancer Institute, effective January 2020. As the director of clinical services for the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center, Dr. Hazard-Jenkins manages clinical affairs and outpatient services as well as the cancer institute’s statewide network of cancer care.   Read More

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center A "dream team" of researchers from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have received funding from the National Institutes of Health for an ambitious five-year collaboration designed to help a population at high risk for cervical and other HPV-related cancers: women and children living with HIV. Through the project, which comes with around $1.8 million each year, researchers will conduct three separate trials in three major Latin American cities: Lima, Rio…

Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University In what is believed to be the most comprehensive molecular characterization to date of the most common—and often treatment-resistant—form of kidney cancer, researchers at Johns Hopkins’ departments of pathology and oncology, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine report evidence for at least three distinct subtypes of clear cell renal cell carcinoma, along with new revel…

UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center The prostate cancer program at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and UCLA Health has been awarded an $8.7 million Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) grant from the National Cancer Institute. The grant will support the development of new and innovative approaches for improving the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of prostate cancer.   Read More

The University of Kansas Cancer Center Researchers at KU Cancer Center have identified an agent that improves risk biomarkers for breast cancer while reducing menopausal side effects in women at high risk for breast cancer. Prompted by a preclinical study that suggested a medication containing estrogen and anti-estrogen bazedoxifene may help prevent breast cancer, Carol Fabian, MD, and her team conducted a six-month pilot study of the product, called Duavee®.   Read More

Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and RWJBarnabas Health welcome Carolyn Hayes, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, as the new chief nursing officer. She will oversee nursing at Rutgers Cancer Institute and oncology service line-related nursing across RWJBarnabas, ensuring nursing excellence throughout an integrated cancer care model.   Read More

Siteman Cancer Center A new study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis indicates a way for cancer immunotherapy to spur a more robust immune response. Such knowledge could lead to the development of better cancer vaccines and more effective immunotherapy drugs called checkpoint inhibitors. Senior author is Robert D. Schreiber, PhD.   Read More

USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center A new study reveals that the internet popularity of health awareness campaigns may not always translate into a greater interest in related health behaviors. Researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of USC compared Pinktober and Movember, two month-long cancer outreach campaigns with similar online popularity based on six years of search traffic data. Giovanni Cacciamani, MD, is principal investigator.   Read More

UK Markey Cancer Center Cancer-control researchers at the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center and The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, James Cancer Hospital & Solove Research Institute aim to increase colorectal cancer screening and follow-up care among underserved individuals in Appalachia through a $5.7 million grant from the National Cancer Institute.   Read More

Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center Despite the lengthy time and money commitments that are required to conduct clinical trials, a new analysis has found that up to one-fourth of completed lung cancer clinical trial results are not published, depriving patients, the research community, and the public of a complete picture of the current state of the science. Chul Kim, MD, MPH, is the senior investigator for this work.   Read More

Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah The Society for Melanoma Research recently presented Sheri Holmen, PhD, with the Estela Medrano Memorial Award. Dr. Holmen is a melanoma researcher at Huntsman Cancer Institute. The award honors the late Estela Medrano, a leader in melanoma research. It is given annually to a woman who has made major contributions in the fight against melanoma.   Read More

UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center In a breakthrough with important implications for the future of immunotherapy for breast cancer, UC San Francisco scientists have found that blocking the activity of a single enzyme can prevent a common type of breast cancer from spreading to distant organs.   Read More

Stanford Cancer Institute Scientists at Stanford and UC San Francisco have developed an experimental drug that targets a currently untreatable type of lung cancer responsible for generating roughly 500,000 newly diagnosed cases worldwide each year. The researchers slowed the spread of this cancer in mice by neutralizing a single protein that would otherwise set off a chain reaction, causing runaway growth.   Read More

Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University Using cells from human breast cancers and mouse breast cancer models, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center say they have significant new evidence that tumor cells exposed to low-oxygen conditions have an advantage when it comes to invading and surviving in the bloodstream. Daniele Gilkes, PhD, is study leader.   Read More