Sept. 17, 2018:

Big Ten cancer centers are enriched by dedicated researchers who are meeting cancer head-on with not only their intellect, but also their heart. In this edition of Across the Consortium, we applaud those who are making a difference in the clinic, in the lab, and in the community.

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Sept. 10, 2018:

History has its transformative moments – instances that radically shape the future. Looking back, we see their significance, but in the moment their impact is still unseen. As the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium (Big Ten CRC) celebrates its fifth year in 2018, we pause to reflect on milestones past and those on the horizon, through the words of some of our founding visionaries. 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

Aug. 22, 2018:

12 prestigious cancer centers. 

2,600 cancer researchers.

1 mission.

In this month’s edition of Across the Consortium, we highlight the many ways our top-ranking members are pushing the boundaries of science and technology in order to improve diagnosis and treatment for all patients with cancer. 

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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.

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July 26, 2018:

Researchers and leaders from 12 Big Ten cancer centers will meet at Big Ten Conference Headquarters in Chicago on Saturday, Sept. 29. The Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium Summit is expected to draw about 150 participants, including researchers from across the consortium and representatives from pharmaceutical and biotech companies. The University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center is hosting the meeting. Read More

July 15, 2018:

The unified goal of the Big Ten cancer centers is improving the lives of all patients with cancer. In their union is the teamwork of 2,600 cancer researchers and 20,000 patient volunteers, all bringing unique perspectives and strengths to the multi-disciplinary mission. Every breakthrough, every grant, every life touched is a victory that belongs to us all. In the fight against cancer, the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium stands as one. See why we are stronger together in this month’s Across the Consortium!

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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

June 19, 2018:

Big Ten cancer centers are making strides and tackling some of the toughest questions in cancer research. In this month’s edition of Across the Consortium, we highlight advances in prostate cancer, breast cancer, head and neck cancer, multiple myeloma, bladder cancer, colorectal cancer, and new technologies and discoveries that could improve outcomes across many cancers. Behind these advances in research at Big Ten cancer centers are academic physicians and scientists who are not only brilliant in their fields, but also committed to research mentorship and disease prevention.

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June 6, 2018:

Investigator Spotlight

Emily Dykhuizen, PhD Purdue University Center for Cancer Research 

Educational Background

• BA, Reed College, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• PhD, UW-Madison, Chemistry
• Postdoc, Stanford University, Chromatin Biology

Research Interests

My lab works on understanding the role of chromatin regulation on cancer initiation and progression. More specifically, we look at how chromatin regulators regulate gene expression in response to environmental changes. From this information we outline how patient mutations found in chromatin regulators cooperate with the metabolic environment to promote cancer. We then develop strategies to inhibit these pathways to treat a variety of highly chemoresistant cancers such as glioblastoma, kidney cancer, and ovarian cancers.

My lab collaborates with chemists, structural biologists, biochemists and cancer biologists across the Big Ten to identify how chromatin regulators contribute to cancer initiation, cancer metastasis and chemotherapy resistance, and most importantly, to identify how we can target these processes with novel small molecules to help patients with deadly cancers.

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