Nov. 20, 2018:

Kari Wisinski, MD, a breast cancer specialist with the UW Carbone Cancer Center, has been named to the Steering Committee of the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium (Big Ten CRC).

In that role, she will serve as the University of Wisconsin-Madison representative, helping shape the research priorities of the Big Ten CRC. She currently is the co-chair of the consortium’s Breast Cancer Clinical Trial Working Group.

“I have been involved with the Big Ten since inception, as one of the co-leaders of the Breast Cancer Working Group,” Dr. Wisinski said. “It has been rewarding to collaborate with my colleagues at other institutions. Furthermore, I think the focus on integrating junior faculty to help them with their career development is a key benefit of the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium.

“My greatest hope is that Big Ten CRC studies will lead to improvements in the lives of those impacted by cancer.”

A Wisconsin native, Dr. Wisinski holds a medical degree from Washington University School of Medicine and completed internal medicine residency at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, followed by a combined hematology and oncology fellowship at Northwestern University. She is board certified in medical oncology.

Dr. Wisinski’s research focus is on leading clinical trials testing new agents in phase I trials and for patients with breast cancer, which involves translational collaborations with laboratory scientists.

Dr. Wisinski is co-director of the Wisconsin Oncology Network, a statewide medical oncology research group that conducts clinical trials, and leads two arms of the National Cancer Institute’s precision medicine trial, called NCI-MATCH.

“My research has focused on phase I trials of new agents or new combinations for metastatic solid tumors and phase II trials of new agents for breast cancer,” she said. “Most of these trials are focused on triple negative breast cancer, which is a subtype of breast cancer with a poorer prognosis and limited treatment options other than chemotherapy.”

Dr. Wisinski was recently awarded a Pfizer ASPIRE award for a new trial opening through the Big Ten CRC. For this trial, she is working with Sneha Phadke, DO of the University of Iowa Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center. The new trial is studying the combination of two targeted agents for metastatic triple negative breast cancer. Previously, she worked with a colleague at the University of Illinois, Oana Danciu, MD, to launch another Big Ten CRC breast cancer trial.

In addition to breast cancer research, Dr. Wisinski said she is also closely following the Big Ten CRC trials evaluating the role of immunotherapy in treating lung and genitourinary cancers.

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 almost 9,500 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.