May 1, 2019:

Investigator Spotlight:

Ardaman Shergill, MD, University of Illinois

Research interests:

Dr. Shergill has a broad clinical practice where she treats patients with a variety of cancers. Her mission: Bring high quality, evidence-based, state-of-the-art care to all her patients, and deliver it in the most compassionate way possible. Her interest in cancer is due to having lost loved ones to the disease, giving her a unique and humbling insight into a patient’s experience with the illness. Dr. Shergill is interested in helping develop and improve access to novel promising therapeutic advances for her patients so they may benefit from the latest research that is occurring in the rapidly changing field of oncology. She has extensive experience in clinical trials and quality improvement in oncology. Dr. Shergill has co-authored numerous manuscripts and has presented her research at national and international meetings. Read More

April 1, 2019:

Investigator Spotlight

Salma Jabbour, MD, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey

Educational background

• BA, University of Virginia
• MD, University of Maryland School of Medicine
• Internship, University of Maryland Medical Center
• Residency in Radiation Oncology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Research interests

I am interested in developing novel therapies for the treatment of lung cancers and gastrointestinal cancers in combination with radiation therapy. Many of these diseases still require significant improvements in outcomes, and breakthroughs such as immunotherapy may help patients live longer and control their cancers when combined with radiation therapy. Read More

March 1, 2019:

Investigator Spotlight

Shihuan Kuang, PhD, Purdue University Center for Cancer Research

Educational background

• PhD in Physiology and Cell Biology: University of Alberta

Research interests

My lab mainly aims to understand the molecular regulation of stem cells in the adult skeletal muscle and adipose tissues, and how deregulation of certain signaling pathways underlie diseases including cancer. Read More

Feb. 1, 2019:

Thought Leader Perspectives: Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a rapidly progressive form of blood cancer that can occur at any age but mostly presents in patients age 60 and older, represents the most common cause of leukemia-related mortality in the United States and accounts for approximately 21,000 new cases and 10,000 deaths per year.

For decades, the therapeutic progress in AML has been slower than in other cancers, which is in part due to the enormous genomic heterogeneity of the disease. Although the approval of several targeted agents by the FDA since April 2017 inaugurated an exciting new era in AML therapy, only a subset of patients are expected to benefit from these tailored treatment options. The great progress in understanding the pathophysiology of leukemia as well as the related discovery of potential new drug targets, in concert with recent advances in immunotherapy, has sparked a wave of innovative combinatorial treatment strategies that await to be tested in clinical trials. The successful implementation of such trials, however, demands new concepts of cooperative research, including the closer cooperation between clinical and research centers with the goal to harmonize and align research efforts.

The Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium’s Myeloid Malignancies Clinical Trial Working Group was formed approximately three years ago and is composed of a multidisciplinary team of physicians and scientists in various fields of leukemia research (e.g., clinical trials methodology, biomarker discovery, molecular genetics and diagnostics, etc.). The leukemia research laboratories within the consortium have a long-standing experience, reputation and collaborative working relationship that is critical to drive the success of the Big Ten CRC. To date, the working group’s productive collaboration has resulted in two clinical trials that are expected to open in the first quarter of 2019. Additional concepts are currently under review. Read More

Dec. 1, 2018:

Investigator Spotlight

Pavankumar Tandra, MBBS, Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center (University of Nebraska)

Educational background

• MBBS: Osmania Medical School
• MRCGP: South East Scotland Deanery
• Fellowship (Hematology-Oncology): University of Nebraska Medical Center

Research interests

My research interests include tailoring the systemic therapies for early stage HER2-positive breast cancer. I believe we should do more studies in the neoadjuvant platform to assess the strengths of new targeted drugs, to identify biomarkers and minimize the toxicity from chemotherapy. It is very promising to see the new drugs studied in the metastatic setting showing positive results.
Read More

Nov. 1, 2018:

The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University (cancer.northwestern.edu), one of only 49 National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the nation, is dedicated to scientific discovery, advancing medical knowledge, providing compassionate, state-of-the-art cancer care, and training the next generation of clinicians and scientists. Outstanding basic, translational, and clinical research complements a full range of prevention, early detection, treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative care programs for all types of cancer. Read More

Oct. 1, 2018:

Investigator Spotlight

Borys Hrinczenko, MD, PhD, Breslin Cancer Center at Michigan State University

Educational background

• MD: SUNY Downstate College of Medicine, Brooklyn, NY
• PhD: University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
• Internship and Residency: Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
• Fellowship: National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD

Research interests

My main interest is in new therapies for lung cancer, including the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors, the same treatments for which James P. Allison and Tasuku Honjo were awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Medicine. At the Breslin Cancer Center, we have Phase I clinical trials using checkpoint inhibitors to harness the body’s immune system against lung cancer. I’m collaborating on other projects with several MSU researchers, including:

• Chemistry Professor Greg Swain, who is developing a device to measure nitric oxide and peroxynitrite in exhaled breath to determine if these are biomarkers for lung cancer.
• Physiology Professor Eran Andrechek, who discovered in a preclinical model that some lung cancer patients with an overlooked mutation might respond well to treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors.
• Pharmacology and Toxicology Associate Professor Karen Liby, who is studying rexinoid drugs for potentially treating lung cancer patients who have the KRAS mutation.
• Bryan R. Smith, an associate professor of biomedical engineering, who is interested in using nanotechnology to reverse immunosuppression in lung cancer.

These are just a few examples of how we at MSU are collaborating across many disciplines to fight this devastating disease.
Read More

Sept. 1, 2018:

University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center investigators Ryan Wilcox, MD, and Sumana Devata, MD, discuss their current research in these videos. Dr. Wilcox and Dr. Devata are members of the Big Ten CRC’s Lymphoid Malignancies Clinical Trial Working Group. The University of Michigan is the Big Ten CRC’s featured member for September. Learn more about the Rogel Cancer Center. Read More

August 1, 2018:

Investigator Spotlight

Yousef Zakharia, MD, Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Iowa

Education background

MD: Damascus University, Damascus, Syria
Residency: University of Rochester Unity Hospital, Rochester, New York
Fellowships: Michigan State University, Georgia Regents University (Medical College of Georgia)

Research interests

I am assistant professor of medicine in the division of medical oncology and hematology at the University of Iowa and medical oncologist at Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center. I specialize in melanoma and genitourinary malignancy. My research interests are experimental therapeutics and developing novel combinations in melanoma, kidney, and bladder cancers.

The two main projects I have been involved in are:

• Combining the IDO pathway inhibitor indoximod with a PD-1 inhibitor in patients with metastatic melanoma. I have been involved in this clinical trial from the beginning—in the trial design, the LOI, and protocol drafting. I enrolled the very first patient on this multicenter trial. I presented the preliminary results at multiple national and international meetings, including the AACR annual meeting clinical trial plenary session in 2017 and final results at the 2018 ASCO annual meeting.
• An investigator-initiated trial combining high-dose selenium with axitinib in recurrent and refractory clear cell renal cell carcinoma. The background for this trial is based on robust pre-clinical data generated at Roswell Park Cancer Center that suggests that selenium in high doses and certain schedules can downregulate hypoxia induced factor (HIF-a), which is over-expressed in kidney cancer, among other malignancies. Preliminary results of this clinical trial were presented at ASCO GU 2018.

Read More

July 3, 2018:

Investigator Spotlight

David Peace, MD,  University of Illinois Cancer Center 

Educational Background

• Medical School: University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
• Residency: University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
• Fellowship: University of Washington

Peace taking a shot at treating cancer
Reprinted with permission from the University of Illinois Cancer Center newsletter

Vaccines have been developed to fight the flu, combat chicken pox, and battle Hepatitis B. David Peace is working to add cancer to that list of diseases.

Peace, MD, a member of the University of Illinois Cancer Center and professor of hematology and oncology at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, is conducting basic and translational research in tumor immunology in hopes of developing vaccines to treat numerous cancers, including prostate, kidney and bladder. Read More