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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June 2, 2018:

Two Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium studies were accepted as abstracts to the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, June 1-5, 2018, at the McCormick Place in Chicago. The BTCRC-GU14-003 study was presented during a poster session on Saturday, June 2, while the BTCRC-ESO14-012 study was accepted for publication.

Arkadiusz Dudek, MD, PhD (left), is sponsor-investigator of BTCRC-GU14-003, and Shadia Jalal, MD, is sponsor-investigator of BTCRC-ESO14-012.

BTCRC-GU14-003 was the Big Ten CRC’s first study to open to accrual, and completed enrollment about six months ahead of schedule. Read More

May 21, 2018:

On your MARK, get SET, GO Across the Consortium! Get up to date on recent clinical trial outcomes; big leaps in funding; and diagnostic breakthroughs with far-reaching implications. Be inspired by the Big Ten CRC Member Institutions as you witness researchers tackling the toughest questions in oncology as a team.

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May 12, 2018:

Investigator Spotlight

Monika Joshi, MD, MRCP, Penn State Cancer Institute 

Educational Background

• MB, BS, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education
• Member of Royal College of Physicians, London
• MD Residency, Internal Medicine, Pinnacle Health Hospitals
• Hematology/Oncology Fellowship, Penn State Cancer Institute, Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

Research Interests

My clinical and research interests lie primarily in the field of genitourinary (GU) tumors, developing novel therapeutic combinations and biomarkers for GU cancer of the bladder, kidney and prostate. I have a keen interest in developing novel combination therapies with immunotherapy. For example, bladder cancer is considered aggressive, and checkpoint blockade immunotherapy has shown efficacy in this disease. Unfortunately, the therapy only works in approximately 25 percent of patients. Research suggests that priming the immune system with radiation could convert some non-responders to responders. We are currently investigating the role of adding radiation to a checkpoint inhibitor (durvalumab) in bladder cancer that is locally advanced. If successful, this novel approach could ultimately lay the foundation for bladder preservation strategy with immunotherapy in this unique subset of bladder cancer patients who have extensive local disease without any signs of distant metastases. I also serve as a co-leader for the GU diseases group at the Penn State Cancer Institute and was recently appointed as a co-chair of the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium’s GU Clinical Research Working Group. Serving in this capacity helps me facilitate the groundbreaking research conducted by my colleagues in the consortium.

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May 2, 2018:

A Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium study, led by investigators at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, could help determine whether an investigational combination of chemotherapy drugs might lead to improved overall responses in patients with metastatic or advanced unresectable gastric/gastroesophageal junction cancer.

The goal of the single-arm, phase II study, known as BTCRC-GI15-015, is to estimate the overall objective response rate in subjects receiving the combination of FOLFOX and nab-paclitaxel (FOLFOX-A). Read More

May 1, 2018:

The Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium will host meetings for the Big Ten CRC Foundation, Cancer Center Directors, Steering Committee, and Clinical Trial Working Groups during ASCO 2018. Read More

April 16, 2018:

Every month, we huddle for another edition of Across the Consortium to recap the progress of our member institutions. Here are this month’s hand-picked highlights from across the consortium! Be inspired as you catch all the action. 

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