April 5, 2021

Investigator Spotlight:

Channabasavaiah B. Gurumurthy BVSC (DVM), MVSC, PhD, MBA, University of Nebraska Medical Center

Research Interests:

I am a professor of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience and director of the Mouse Genome Engineering Core Facility. My research interest is in enhancing technologies for biomedical research. I develop genome-editing technologies and custom mouse models useful to research ranging from cancer to neuroscience to COVID-19 research. I am fortunate to work in the interface of two Nobel awarded technologies: mouse genome engineering and the CRISPR-Cas systems. Along with a long term collaborator Prof. Masato Ohtsuka (Tokai University, Japan), I have published more than 25 papers on mouse genome engineering technologies, ultimately developing Easi-CRISPR—an approach now regarded as a revolutionary method in our field.

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March 3, 2021:

This month, the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium highlights our member, the University of Illinois Cancer Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago. In this member feature, we shine the spotlight on two University of Illinois at Chicago investigators who are actively involved in consortium studies and working groups: Irum Khan, MD, and Kent Hoskins, MD.

Irum Khan, MD

University of Illinois Cancer Center member
Co-chair, Big Ten CRC Myeloid Malignancies Clinical Trial Working Group

Educational background

• MD, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan
• Residency, Internal Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Ohio
• Fellowship, Hematology/Oncology, Northwestern University, Chicago
• MS, Clinical and Translational Science, University of Illinois Chicago

Research and Clinical Interests
Irum Khan, MD, is as comfortable in a laboratory as she is a hospital. As a clinician, Dr. Khan cares for patients with acute and chronic myeloid malignancies, including leukemia, myeloproliferative and myelodysplastic disorders. Her research is focused on translational studies in myeloid malignancies, identifying therapeutic targets in myeloid leukemia and serving as principal investigator on numerous clinical trials. Read More

February 3, 2021:

This month, the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium highlights the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University as our featured member. Daniela Matei, MD, the Diana, Princess of Wales Professor of Cancer Research, professor of Hematology / Oncology and Gynecologic Oncology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and co-leader of the Translational Bridge Program at the Lurie Cancer Center, was featured in the story, “From Behind the Iron Curtain to a Career in Gynecologic Cancer Research,” in the ASCO Post.

Read the full story in the ASCO Post.

About the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium: The Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium was created in 2013 to transform the conduct of cancer research through collaborative, hypothesis-driven, highly translational oncology trials that leverage the scientific and clinical expertise of Big Ten universities. The goal of the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium is to create a unique team-research culture to drive science rapidly from ideas to new approaches to cancer treatment. Within this innovative environment, today’s research leaders collaborate with and mentor the research leaders of tomorrow with the unified goal of improving the lives of all patients with cancer.

About the Big Ten Conference: The Big Ten Conference is an association of world-class universities whose member institutions share a common mission of research, graduate, professional and undergraduate teaching and public service. Founded in 1896, the Big Ten has sustained a comprehensive set of shared practices and policies that enforce the priority of academics in the lives of students competing in intercollegiate athletics and emphasize the values of integrity, fairness and competitiveness. The broad-based programs of the 14 Big Ten institutions will provide over $200 million in direct financial support to more than 9,800 students for more than 11,000 participation opportunities on 350 teams in 42 different sports. The Big Ten sponsors 28 official conference sports, 14 for men and 14 for women, including the addition of men’s ice hockey and men’s and women’s lacrosse since 2013. For more information, visit www.bigten.org.

December 15, 2020:

After more than 20 years in cancer research, Borys Hrinczenko, MD, PhD, sees a bright future. As a lung cancer specialist at the Michigan State University Breslin Cancer Center, he has led numerous clinical trials and helped pioneer new therapies, including checkpoint inhibitors, harnessing the body’s immune system against lung cancer. Twenty years ago, he could offer his lung cancer patients few viable treatments.

More recently, “I’ve had patients who have done quite well” on checkpoint inhibitors, Hrinczenko said. That includes a small group of long-term survivors with advanced lung cancer.

He expects more breakthroughs as the Breslin Cancer Center looks forward to moving into a new hospital in early 2022 now being built by McLaren Health Care in partnership with MSU and adjacent to the East Lansing campus. Breslin is reorganizing its clinical trials office to improve efficiency and forming alliances with several other cancer groups, including the Karmanos Cancer Institute, which is part of McLaren.

MSU’s membership in the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium (Big Ten CRC) is a key to that bright future. Hrinczenko is a member of the Consortium’s Steering Committee and its Thoracic Clinical Trial Working Group. He is an associate professor in the MSU College of Human Medicine and director of the Hematology and Oncology Fellowship Program. Read More

November 3, 2020:

This month, the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium highlights the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center as our featured member. Rogel Cancer Center member Ajjai Alva, MBBS, is an associate professor of hematology/oncology and member of the Big Ten CRC’s Genitourinary Clinical Trial Working Group. He has participated in four Big Ten CRC trials with a few more in the pipeline. Dr. Alva shares why he is glad to be part of the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium.

“Cancer Research is evolving rapidly with major new advances and that’s great news for patients. From a researcher perspective, the fast-changing landscape makes it critical to get new trials up and running fast and to get them completed fast as well. Otherwise, we run a real risk of the study being outdated and irrelevant. The consortium provides a great platform of outstanding experienced institutions and investigators to do cutting-edge and fast-paced studies. The Administrative Headquarters team is outstanding, highly professional, and very responsive to site and investigator needs and ever ready to assist. Read More

September 9, 2020:

This month, the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium highlights the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center as our featured member. UW Carbone member Elisavet Paplomata, MD, an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine, shares her research interests and expertise in breast and gynecologic cancers in this story, originally published by uwhealth.org.

At the Intersection of Breast and Gynecologic Cancers: Dr. Elisavet Paplomata

Although gynecologic cancers are less common than breast cancer, the treatment of these cancers can be more challenging due to lack of effective screening and subsequent diagnosis at an advanced stage.

New UW Carbone Cancer Center member Elisavet Paplomata, MD, an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine, brings extensive clinical research experience in studying both breast and gynecologic cancers to UW-Madison. Her work focuses on finding new drug treatment options for women diagnosed with these diseases. Read More

August 1, 2020:

This month, the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium highlights Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, as our featured member. Veronika Bachanova, MD, PhD, shares her research interests, and Jeffrey Miller, MD, discusses his research in natural killer (NK) cells.

Investigator Spotlight

Veronika Bachanova, MD, PhD, professor of medicine, Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota Medical School

Educational background

• Medical School: Komenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia
• Residency: Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Mich.
• Fellowship: University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn.

Research interests

I am a professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota, section head of hematologic malignancy, and lead for CAR-T Cell Therapy in the Bone Marrow Transplant Program at University of Minnesota. My research and clinical work is focused on immunotherapies and stem cell transplantation for hematologic malignancies, particularly lymphoma. I founded and currently chair the Hematologic Malignancy Tissue Bank and have designed and conducted dozens of investigator-initiated clinical trials for lymphoma and leukemia. Read More

July 1, 2020:

Investigator Spotlight

Zeynep Madak-Erdogan, PhD, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Educational background

• PhD: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• BS: Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey

Research interests

I am the director of the Women’s Health, Hormones, and Nutrition lab at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. My research interests include the impact of nutrients and hormones on breast cancer outcomes, health disparities in African-American women with breast cancer, and the impact of estrogen receptor alpha and kinase signaling cross-talk on the development and progression of breast cancer. I am also interested in researching the effect of diet and nutrition, which are influenced by socioeconomic status, on hormone action and therapy effectiveness. Read More

June 1, 2020:

As New Jersey’s only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, Rutgers Cancer Institute’s team of internationally recognized physicians and researchers is driven by a singular focus and mission, to help individuals fight cancer. Through the transformation of laboratory discoveries into clinical practice, we target cancer with precision medicine, immunotherapy and clinical trials and provide the most advanced, comprehensive, and compassionate world-class cancer care to adults and children. This mission is being accomplished in partnership with RWJBarnabas Health. Rutgers Cancer Institute physicians and scientists work side by side to make sure the most sophisticated treatments are delivered to our patients quickly and safely – the future of cancer treatments today. Read More

May 1, 2020:

Since 1978, the Purdue University Center for Cancer Research has been a National Cancer Institute-designated basic research cancer center. Only seven institutions in the United States have earned this title. Being a basic research center means we don’t treat cancer patients directly. Our work focuses on investigating cancers where they begin — at the cellular level — to investigate the cause of and cure for one of the most devastating diseases of our time.

Doctors and scientists throughout the world use our discoveries to develop methods, medicines, and medical devices to save and enhance patients’ lives.

Learn more at: https://www.purdue.edu/cancer-research/.

Investigator Spotlight

Humaira Gowher, PhD, Purdue University Center for Cancer Research

Educational background

• PhD in Biochemistry: Justus Leibeg University, Germany
• MSc in Biochemistry: Aligarh Muslim University, India

Research interests

The overarching goal of our research is to elucidate epigenetic mechanisms that control cell identity and determine how these mechanisms are disrupted in cancer. Using embryonic stem cells and embryonal carcinoma cells as model systems, our research specifically focuses on the activity of distal regulatory elements of developmental genes, called enhancers, and insulators. We also study the effect of somatic mutations of DNA and histone methyltransferases commonly found in cancer and other developmental disorders on the biochemical activity of these enzymes. Read More