AROUND THE POA: December 2020

The Caris POA Adds 13 New Members in 2020

In 2020, the Precision Oncology Alliance welcomed 13 new member institutions from the US and internationally to the Alliance, bringing our total to an impressive 45 members. When we established the POA just over five years ago it was our goal to build the foremost precision medicine focused research network in the world. To do this, we set out to bring together the brightest minds in academic research, community care and clinical R&D. We have, and continue to make great strides in achieving this goal. The diverse make-up of POA member institutions has enabled us to deliver greater molecular science solutions in an effort to improve the lives of cancer patients worldwide through the development of precision medicine programs and practices. 

POA Member Milestones

2020 also marked milestone anniversaries for several of our members. On behalf of Caris Life Sciences and the entire Caris Precision Oncology Alliance, we’d like to recognize and express our gratitude for the contributions they’ve made to the POA and for their part in making it the best-in-class collaborative research network that it is today.

Immunotherapy Cancer Vaccine Trial Offers Patients New Hope

Researchers used a patient’s cancer cells to teach her immune system how to recognize and destroy the cancer, revealing an option for successfully treating others. Read more.

AdventHealth Gordon to Open New Cancer Center

Scheduled to open in December 2020, the AdventHealth Gordon Cancer Center will be the final piece in bringing all cancer services on campus at AdventHealth Gordon to create a truly comprehensive cancer program. Read more.

Winship Study Shows Increased Failure-free Survival in Prostate Cancer

A study from Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University has the potential to change how patients whose prostate cancer recurs after prostatectomy are treated. Read more.

Fox Chase Researcher Leads Study on Impact of Funding for American Head and Neck Society

Results from a recently published study spearheaded by a Fox Chase Cancer Center researcher found that over the last 20 years, research funding provided by the American Head and Neck Society (AHNS) has generated considerable return on investment and achieved the society’s aims of furthering the trajectories of early career researchers. Read more.

HOAG Hospital Irvine Plans Would Add 9 Buildings, More than Double Patient Beds

Already known as a hub for medical technology and research firms, Irvine is also increasingly becoming a center for direct patient care, with a proposed expansion of Hoag Hospital Irvine as the latest example of the trend. Read more.

HCI Researcher Receives Two Awards for Community Contributions and Neuroendocrine Tumor Ressearch

Heloisa Soares, MD, PhD, a gastrointestinal and neuroendocrine tumor medical oncologist and researcher at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) and assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Utah, received two awards from external organizations honoring her contributions to the field of cancer. Soares was named an Advocacy Champion by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). Soares also received the 2020 North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (NANETS) Theranostics Investigator Grant. Read more.

Karmanos Researchers Publish Article in ‘Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology’

Karmanos Cancer Institute is pleased to announce that the work of Ramzi Mohammad, Ph.D., member, Molecular Therapeutics Research Program, Karmanos Cancer Institute and Wayne State University School of Medicine (WSU SOM) and Asfar Azmi, Ph.D., co-leader, Tumor Biology and Microenvironment Research Program, Karmanos Cancer Institute and assistant professor, WSU SOM, titled,  “The nuclear export protein XPO1 – from biology to targeted therapy” has been published in a comprehensive review article in “Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology.” Read more.

Moffitt Myeloma Institute Established at Memorial Hospital West – Center to Host CAR-T Cell Therapy Clinical Trials

The Moffitt Malignant Hematology and Cellular Therapy program, established in partnership with Memorial Healthcare System in 2017, has created a multiple myeloma institute at Memorial Hospital West in Pembroke Pines. Read more.

Researchers Join $10 Million Project to Understand Sex Differences in Brain Cancer Outcomes

Researchers from Penn State College of Medicine are participating in a $10 million project to better understand why males and females have different survival rates with a common and deadly type of brain cancer. The investigators hope the study results can be used to develop new therapeutic approaches for treating the most severe form of brain tumor, glioblastoma. Read more.

Dr. Feinstein Reports – Piedmont Fayette Approved for NRG Oncology Research Studies

In a recent article from “The Citizen – Health Wize” Piedmont Cancer Institute’s Dr. Trevor Feinstein was asked about the recent approval of Piedmont Fayette Hospital affiliation for NRG Oncology research studies.
Read more.

Rutgers Researcher Receives $400K Grant to Reduce Racial Health Disparities in Cancer Care

Anita Kinney, PhD, professor at the Rutgers School of Public Health and Associate Director for Population Science and Community Outreach at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, is one of ten recipients across the nation of an American Cancer Society and Pfizer community grant of $399,892 to support investigation into reducing racial health disparities in cancer care through precision oncology and immunotherapy.
Read more.

New Thoracic Oncologist Spearheads Development of Lung Cancer Program

Mark Sides, MD, PhD, joined Tulane’s faculty in July and is building a comprehensive Thoracic Oncology Program here that offers the full spectrum of multidisciplinary care for lung cancer patients, from early detection to innovative research to genetic testing and targeted therapies. Read more.

DrugCell: New Experimental AI Platform Matches Tumor to Best Drug Combo

UC San Diego researchers use artificial intelligence to predict best approach to treating cancer. Read more.

CU Cancer Center Leukemia Researcher Receives NCI Outstanding Investigator Award

Craig Jordan, PhD, has spent more than 20 years developing better treatments for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a rapidly progressing cancer of the blood and bone marrow that can spread to other parts of the body, including the lymph nodes, liver, spleen and central nervous system. Read more.

U of M Opens First-in-Class Engineered NK Cell Therapy Trial for the Treatment of Patients with Advanced Multiple Myeloma and Leukemia

The University of Minnesota has become the first location in the world for a new innovative clinical trial for the treatment of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and multiple myeloma. The Phase 1 clinical trial for FT538 will eventually be a multicenter study but has initially opened exclusively at the M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center. Read more.

Pitt/UPMC Hillman Cancer Center Name New Surgical Oncology Chief

Following an extensive national search, Amer Zureikat, M.D., F.A.C.S, has been appointed Vice Chair of Surgery for Surgical Oncology in the UPMC Department of Surgery and Chief of Surgical Oncology at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. Read more.

Sharing Data for Childhood Cancers

Researchers are sharing valuable genomic data that will help transform the way childhood cancer is treated. Nearly 16,000 children are diagnosed with cancer each year in the U.S. Today, more than 84% of children with cancer survive five years or more, but many will experience lifelong complications from their treatments. Read more.

Singh Awarded 2020 Mayer Mitchell Award for Excellence in Cancer Research

Cancer researcher Seema Singh, Ph.D., has been named the recipient of the 2020 Mayer Mitchell Award for Excellence in Cancer Research. Read more.

Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati Earns AACR Distinguished Lectureship

Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati, PhD, MPH, Associate Dean for Community Initiatives, was the recipient of the 2020 American Association for Cancer Research Distinguished Lectureship on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities. Read more.

Virginia Cancer Specialists Physicians Named to Washingtonian Magazine’s Top Doctors List 2020

Virginia Cancer Specialists is proud to announce 19 of our physicians that have been named Washingtonian magazine’s 2020 Top Doctors. Read more.

WVU Cancer Institute Breast Care Program Again Rated Among The Best In The Nation

The Comprehensive Breast Care Program at the WVU Cancer Institute has again been granted a full three-year accreditation designation by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC), a program administered by the American College of Surgeons. This is the breast care program’s fourth consecutive full accreditation. Read more.

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